Darkness Rising
by Scarlet Hondae
Summary: Eons ago, a evil almost destroyed the universe, only to be locked into hell by six warriors. Now, the evil is breaking lose, and the five warriors are once again being recruited by their leader. May the power protect them, as it has many others...
1. Prelude : Darkness Rising

A.U : Trying my hand at Power Rangers. Short chapter first, if only because its the prolude.

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Prelude :

Thousands of years ago, a dark evil was present in the universe. A demon, some say, of extreme power. Others cower in fear and tell of a dark god who was at war with the light. Some say he was merely mortal, a mortal so evil he shall always be remembered.

Either way, this great evil conquered and destroyed many plants and killed many people. He spawned an army of his children, those whose powers were great as well as terrible and vile. The army and their leader spread the name Vadlor the Merciless, the army led by a woman deemed as merciless and cruel as her father. It seemed no one could defeat them.

Then the general of the army, the prized first child of Valdor, turned on him. It is said she fell in love with a soldier, though it is merely a myth. Whatever happened, she turned on her father, supported by five loyal soldiers and their armies. Together, the six warrior defeated the evil and sent the evil demon-god back to hell, along with all his children save one.

The leader of the other five warriors told them that the great evil may break out again, and that their powers would be needed. She told them she would enter a long sleep, and would awaken if the doorway to hell and the spell that closed it were weakening. She would recruit pure souls to help her vanquish the evil once more if it was needed.

The five soldiers gave up their powers, encasing them in small jewels that the half-demon warrior hid. They went on to lead lives of their own, while the immortal entered a long sleep.

All has been peaceful since then.

Until now.

The great evil is awakening, and the power is needed once more.

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	2. Unlikely Friends

A/U : I have two reviews..(*makes sure not to speak so loud, as not to scare them away*)...Anyway! So here's the first chapter. Yeah, the blue lockers? We have those at my school, and they're a really, really ugly color.

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Chapter One : Unlikely Friends

Maria Amherst sighed and slammed her locker shut, glaring at the sickly looking blue that all the lockers were coated with. God, but couldn't they pick another color? Black, maybe, since that was a blend of all colors. Maybe white, even, the forever neutral shade of nothingness. Of course they hadn't; they had settled on _pale blue_, and a nasty shade at that. Almost worse than vomit green, which had been last years color.

She swung around, dodging what looked to be a freshman, and making her way towards her first period. The worst class of the day, in her opinion. She was truly alone in that class, sitting back in the corner, watching the other students, mostly male, flit around Miss. Perfect. It had been that way since day one, when Dawn Glasgow had showed up late, becoming the center of attention by fault or default.

Shaking her head, she watched as the subject of her thoughts came floating into the room. Falling into her seat with a sigh, Maria watched Dawn chat with every person in the room, twisting her perfect, real blond hair around one perfect French tipped nail. The girl was dressed in white, from her shoes, to her skirt, to her tank top. She looked like an angel, in truth, though Maria would be caught dead rather than admit it.

The bell rang, and the teenager dragged herself away from her thoughts to focus on her teacher, only to swing her eyes towards the door like every other student when it opened.

Ryan Bristow stepped into the classroom, as perfect and hot as always. His black hair was spiked up, the tips dyed dark red. Faded jeans and a red tank top, a white work shirt unbuttoned over the top, completed the rogue look. Every girl in the class (which was about five out of fifteen), about drooled. He didn't help that the boy had not an ounce of fat on him.

"Sorry I was late, Ms. Crawford. I had to stop and talk to my seventh period teacher." He said smoothly, moving into the seat across the isle from Dawn.

The teacher nodded and smiled, and Maria almost gagged. Anyone else, and their stick-up-the-ass History teacher would have given them a detention or embarrassed them. Not the Alpha Group, though, as Maria had taken to calling them. The straight-A students who always seemed to be first in anything. Jackson Colburn and Ty Curning were the last parts of the group, and Sydney Destow had moved away at the start of the year.

Sighing, she tore her thoughts away from the 'Alpha Group' and told herself to get back to work. She couldn't afford to slack off, not like last year...

* * *

Dawn sighed and tucked a strand of honey-colored blonde hair behind her ear. God, this class lasted forever. It was one of the few classes that she didn't have with Ty or Jack, though at least Ryan was around to save her skin. Otherwise, she'd have fallen asleep and failed the first semester.

She looked over at Ryan and smiled, blue eyes meeting blue eyes as she silently asked for the time. _Nine twenty five, _he mouthed back, and her smile got wider. Five for minutes and she'd be free of their History teacher and go on to art, her fine art of choice. Ryan had piano, because he couldn't draw worth crap, but both Ty and Jack were in art. Jack, because he needed the credit, and Ty because he liked to art. She was a little of both.

She tuned in a bit to the teacher, the word 'project' catching her attention. "...the groups will be in fours, with," the teacher counted out the students, "One group of three. I'll choose the group, of course, and place the hard-workers with such." A subtle hint that not everyone was passing.

She called out the roll, and Dawn almost groaned when she saw her name was on the end of the list. "Dawn, how about you and Ryan, and..." She looked around for a third wheel, knowing said person wouldn't have to do anything. Dawn and Ryan were always together and got a high A, no matter the other person in the group. "How about Maria?" She raised her voice, "Ms. Amherst?"

'Ms. Amherst' stood up, popped out one earphone and made her away towards the group of three desks that Ms. Crawford was pointing at. "Oh. Great. I'm in your group." She said after the teacher had turned around.

Dawn wondered for a second whether the blonde highlights in the light brown hair were from the sun or from bleach. Then she swallowed and said jokingly, "We don't bite, ya know, or even fail."

Piercing amber eyes stared at her, "You better not. Fail, that is. I need this grade."

Ryan snorted, "I've need the grade sheet. You're the only person in this class with a straight hundred for the final grade."

"Which, if we get lower than a hundred on this project, will fall." She said slowly, like pointing something out to a child. Dawn winced; Ryan hated that tone, and seemed to have taken an instant dislike to their new third.

She personally thought the girl was cute. Light brown hair was streaked, probably by the sun, with honey blonde. Her eyes were odd, a liquid dark amber, but nothing creepy or weird. She wasn't wearing makeup, which _was _odd, but then, she didn't need it. A brown shirt made her glow, followed up by dark jeans and what looked like Nine West three-inch leather high heeled boots from last year's sale.

Dawn sighed and zoned back to the present, opening her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Ryan. "Why the hell do you need a straight hundred in _History? _Why not in something useful?"

She could see this was going nowhere. "You know, I'm gonna have to chalk this up to jealousy, because no one is this much an asshole unless they envy you."

Dawn smothered a laugh, then cleared her throat. "C'mon, guys, can't we get along for a few minutes?" She asked lightly, only to be subjected to an eye roll by Maria, "At least long enough to pick a nation."

Ryan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How about England?"

"No way. Too popular, too common. Same with France and Germany." Maria said automatically. "We should do something heard of, but not too common. Transylvania?"

Dawn shook her head, "That'll be hard to find facts on, and way too popular as well. A lot of people will choose it because of the vampire legends. How about..." She trailed off and looked at the map, "Romania?"

Maria and Ryan both just looked at her for a second. Then Ryan nodded and said, "I'll go for that one. I've heard of it, but half the class probably hasn't."

"Ditto." Maria said after a second, then glanced outside. "Almost time to change classes. We gonna meet and work the rest out?"

Ryan nodded, "How about the coffee house on the corner of Paramour and Faraday? Its where most of my group usually hangs after school."

She nodded as the bell rang, "Sure, but remember, I'm not part of your group." She said it a little causticly, and Dawn winced.

If first period mirrored the rest of the day, today was just gonna suck.

* * *

"Dude, you should have heard her! Something sure as hell crawled up her butt and _died, _or maybe its still biting. That would explain the tone of her voice." Ryan growled, his good mood gone as he made his way towards the coffee house.

"She can't be that bad, Ryan." Ty, always the one to look on the good side. "Maybe she just had a bad day?"

"Maria Amherst? I have her in my Biology II class. A nasty piece of work. Didn't he even flinch when she cut open the baby pig." Jackson said, yawning.

Dawn sighed, "I must admit, she was very...caustic. She was not insulting me personally, but she does act like she's above us."

"Which, in Dawn terms, means she's a stuck-up bitch." Jackson translated, forever the tactless one.

Ty was silent as Ryan threw an arm over his shoulder. "Well, just wait to make your decision." He opened the door and scanned the chairs and couches. "If she's here...Probably ditched us."

"Actually, I'm behind you." Maria said from behind them, her tone chilly and cool.

Everyone froze and turned around, clogging up the doorway. "Um, hi, Maria." Dawn said with a tight smile.

Maria merely looked at her with cold as ice amber eyes. "Please move, or I'll be stuck here all day."

They trooped in, Ryan choosing the usual spot by default. Two couches were pushed together, making a half-T shape. A coffee table was in between, for people to put their stuff. He claimed the corner of the smaller couch, and proceeded to unload three book and a spiral.

Dawn, Ty and Jackson moved to take the three-person couch, automatically leaving the seat beside Ryan open for Syd, even if she was gone. Seeing there was no other place to sit, Maria took the empty seat, as far from Ryan as the couch would let her get.

"What books have you gotten?" She asked after a second, extending a hand.

Still disgusted at himself for talking about her in front of her, he gave the books up without argument. "_Romania for Dummies, Wold History : Romania, _and _How Romania Became a Nation." _She read off, then handed them back and looked up. "That's it? Only three?"

Dawn shook her head, "That's all the school library had, but we'll be going to the public library later."

Ryan nodded, "Its open till seven, right? We should be done by then." He glanced at the clock.

"No worries, I'll get them. I work there, so I know what to look for." Maria said, still cold as ice.

Ty cleared his throat, "Anyone want anything? On the house." Looking at Maria, he explained, "Its my parents place, so I get everything free, as long as I work on the weekends."

She seemed to be thinking as everyone else spoke. "Hot chocolate with whip cream. Can you do that?" Maria asked after a second.

Ty blinked at her and nodded, "Sure." He hadn't pictured her for hot chocolate, much less whip cream, but whatever. "Any food?"

"Cheese danish." She said off the top of her head. "I think coffee houses serve that stuff."

Ty nodded, "Yep. My mom makes them in the back, so their fresh too." He stood, only having to remember Maria's order. For everyone else, he just told his parents 'the usual', which was pretty cool. "C'mon, Jackson, I'll need help carrying things."

"Sooo...." Ryan let it trail out, pushing hair out of his eyes. Seventh period had been swimming team, and he hadn't bothered to re-gel his hair.

Dawn took over. "I'm really, really sorry about what I said out there." She said in an almost pleading tone.

Maria looked a tad surprise before her face went blank. "Don't be. You were only telling the truth."

Ryan butted in then, "We met you once. We should have bothered to get to know you first, before really judging you publicly, or talking about you." Dawn nodded in agreement, having nothing to add.

"Well, whatever." Maria was still a little struck they apologized. "Look, you're not the first person, and you're not the last, and you certainly not the worst. Really, I don't know why I'm reacting the way I am."

"Because a stranger was ragging on you and basically saying cruel things about you, even when they don't know you?" Jackson asked, sitting down and handed Dawn and Ryan their drinks, and stetting down the cup holder to grab his own drink. "Ty will be back in a second."

Looking decidedly uncomfortable, she said, "Well, apology accepted. You didn't mean any harm."

A hot chocolate with heaping amount of whip cream appeared in front of her. "They didn't. They were just being insensitive, which, for Dawn, is pretty rare." Ty said as she took the coco. "Here's your danish." He handed her the plate next. "So how's it goin'?"

She took a piece of the danish and popped it into her mouth. Dawn watched her as Ryan began to tell Ty and Jackson just how messed up Europe was. "You look you've never had one before." Dawn said, clearly amused as she watched Maria moan from the taste.

"Not in a long, long time. Damn, these are good." She said after a second, finally loosening up a bit. "Anyone else want a piece? I'm not cruel enough to horde it all."

Ryan laughed and reached over, only to have his hand smacked by Dawn. "You have your own food," She motioned at the cheesecake in front of him. "Don't take Maria's, no matter what she says."

This time, everyone laughed. After that little joke, though, everyone seemed to buckle down on their homework. Ty with math, Jackson with biology, and Ryan, Dawn and Maria on history. For two hours they talked, joked and did homework, until Maria finally looked at the clock.

"Shit, I'm late for work." She muttered, "Hey, I gotta go, okay? Are we doing this tomorrow as well?"

Everyone looked up and blinked at the clock. Ryan nodded after a second. "Everyday and any day you'd like, okay?" He said lightly, standing up himself. "Hey, I gotta go help mom with dinner. I promised tonight. See y'all later."

He followed Maria out, heading towards his own car as he watched her hail a cab. Maybe she's stick around, hang out more. Everyone else seemed to like her...Kick his car in gear, he smiled to himself. Dawn was right.

You found friends in the most unlikely of people.


	3. The Insane Have More Fun

A/U : Last update for today. I'll be doing an update or two every day if I can, though. Hey, anyone have an idea on the romance? Who would be good together, ect? Maybe a love triangle...Maybe not, because its a team...Oh well! Ideas, please?

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Chapter Two ;; The Insane Have More Fun

* * *

She stumbled as she landed, wincing as she fought to keep her balance. Normally, the routine wasn't much; in fact, she had almost mastered it, and had been teaching the other girls before. Now it was all she could do to stay awake this late in the day. Four hours of sleep got her through the day, but any longer than usual, and she was toast.

"Go hit the damn showers, Maria!" Her coach yelled, "Then go home and get some sleep! You're useless to me like this!"

Nodding, she made her way towards the locker room, grateful she was the only one here. Normally, the room would be flooded and everyone would have seen her mess up. It wasn't normally at the moment. It was ten thirty at night, and she had stayed for private lessons. She'd been here since seven, after doing her homework and hanging out a bit at the coffee shop.

Maria sighed as the freezing cold water hit her, thinking horrible thoughts at the man who had told them the heater was fixed. Damn, but hot water would be better for sore muscles, even if the cold kept her up. Her shower was brief, seeing as the water was cold, and she toweled off in the glass room.

Twisting her locker combo, she pulled out her backpack, and from her backpack came her black pants and tank top. Her pants, black and a stretchy material, fell to her heels, sitting low enough on her hips so that a section of her mid drift showed below her tank top. She slipped into black flip flops, no heels, and slug her backpack over her shoulder.

Pushing the double doors open, she paused in the entrance, noting that the room was dark and empty. Her coach was no where in sight, and neither was the student teacher. They always stayed until about eleven, or until all the girls were gone, and they always left a light on in the gym, even when they weren't there.

After years of living off and on the streets, she'd developed an instinct, and learned to roll with it. In this case, actually roll. She hit the ground, rolling with the impact and flipping to her feet in seconds. She dropped her backpack, ditched her shoes and fell back into a fighting stance, ready for another attack.

It came, sure enough. A meaty fist flew towards her, and she jerked to the side, grabbing his wrist and pressing towards a place she knew would hurt. Then she yelped and let go, because her attacker didn't seem to have said pressure point, or even all his fingers. She stumbled back, then froze at the thing came out of the shadows.

A big, black thing stood in front of her, a white 'x' on its forehead. Tall and stocky, it moved almost like a bird, oddly graceful and totally disgusting. Three fingers on each hand and foot, and black wings stretched behind it, flapping and flinging what looked like solid feathers around everywhere. She caught a glance of one, coated in blood with a sharp edge.

She walked backwards, a plan forming in her mind. A second later, she did a small run and flip high over the thing's head, landing far behind it, though still too far from the door. Instead, she bent and scooped up the 'feather', smiling as she realized she had been right. Solid steel, coated in black and red blood. The feather was a weapon, both to the bird-thing and anyone who grabbed one.

"C'mon, birdie, birdie. Let's see if ya wanna play now." She chanted, gripping the feather underhand, like the knives she was so used to.

It seemed to understand her chant, even if it had no ears or eyes. It seemed to scream, though there was no noise, and ran at her. She ducked under, getting a searing pain in the shoulder, but nothing more major than that. A second later, she faced the bird again, reaching up and pulling the steel feather out with only a slight whimper.

Now armed with two knife-like feathers and a basic understanding of the bird, she smiled. It charged ahead again, but this time she was ready. One feather loosened from her hand, flying with accuracy towards the bird. It stuck in its chest, and the bird stopped and seemed to look down. The feather hit the floor a second later, though she was sure she had caused some damage.

Rather than wait this time, she jumped back into a flip once more, clenching the other feather, the one with only her blood, in her teeth. She grabbed a hold of the bar, then with another move, the higher ring, hanging there. A slight maneuver and she was upside down, dangling head-to-the-ground from high above.

The bird circled below her, waiting for her to drop. Swinging up, she gripped one hand to the chain and let loose her other feather, watching it land square on the big skull. The bird screamed and tried to claw it out, and as it did so, Maria pushed off the ring and into a feet-first dive-bomb.

She hit the thing feet first, knocking it down and cushioning her landing. The thing heaved it breath once more and she smelled stale breath coming from the 'x' that took up its face. Then it didn't move again, and after a pensive second, she stood up and ran to grab her backpack and sandals.

She headed towards the door, and paused only with a absent-minded thought to grab some more feathers. A handful went into her backpack, and two went into her right hand. Now sure she would be safe, no matter if another thing attacked, she pushed open the door.

By instinct, she lifted her free hand and sent a punch at the person who was crowding in the door near her. A red fist caught her punch and grabbed her wrist, twisting a bit so while it wasn't really painful, she wouldn't be moving. She blinked up at the person, staring into a black visor set in a red helmet. She felt rather than saw eyes scan her, and she shifted once more so she was ready to counterattack.

"You alright? No hidden injuries?" He asked, while she clenched her jaw and angled her chin in a stubborn way. His voice was hidden and warped by the helmet, and maybe something inside the helmet. "No, I guess not." He said with a sigh, then let go and pivoted to do a really pretty side kick into some thing's chest.

She leaned over to get a good look at it, and winced. It was just like the thing she had fought inside, but smaller, with a gray 'x' and no wings. "What the hell? The other one was way different." She muttered softly.

She felt his attention turn to her again. "The other thing?" A demand for an explanation.

"You know, bigger than this but relatively the same. White 'x', with wings that has knives as feathers." She said slowly, like speaking to a child, she thought with a flash of deja-vu.

He seemed to get antsy, she noted, amused. "Where is it now?" Another demand. Damn, couldn't he ask nicely for once?

She paused to dodge and pull him down with her, "Pay attention. You're in a fight, not having tea." Then she drew a metal feather, pivoted and stabbed downward into the thing withering against the wall.

"Did you just kill it?" He asked, ignoring her other comments.

"Yeah. Same as I did the other one." She said with exaggerated patience, following him to a standing position. "They're not human, and I'm guessing evil minions, so I guess its okay."

"So you killed the general as well." He seemed slightly confused. "But...you're human. You don't have any powers, and you're not a ranger."

"No, I don't have 'powers', and no, I don't think I'm a ranger, though who the hell knows." She said after a second, watching flashes of light.

"You're not a Ranger. That's what we are, and the power come as part of the deal. You have no powers, no morpher, and no suit, so you're not a ranger." He explained, "Now stay here for a second."

A running leap and he plowed into another weird looking thing, taking it down. A flash of red, and the thing was turned into a pile of ashes and from what she could see, mechanical parts. Definitely not human, she decided. None of them were. Now why didn't that terrify her?

She caught another bright color out of the corner of her eye, or rather, a lack of color. The uniform was white, skin-tight with a small armored skirt and silver belt. Knee high boots with the same silver boarder were hardly seen, they blended so well with the uniform. Her helmet was the same, a plain white that tapered into a point in the back with a black visor.

"Are you okay?" Like the red one, her voice was hidden by both the helmet and something else.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Confused as hell, but otherwise fine." She said lightly, "Want to help me with the confused part?"

The girl sounded a little putout as she said, "I'm sorry, I can't. Besides, I think its better that you don't know." With that, Snow-white pivoted, swung a hidden crossbow out and launched a bolt straight into the chest of the thing that was coming up behind a guy in green. "You can trust my team, though. Red, blue, green and white; if it has that color, trust it."

"Colored ones are good, black ones are evil. I'll remember that." She said, heaving a sigh. "Now go do your fighting thing."

The white one nodded and darted off to join what looked like a guy in blue. There was no skirt on the others, so she guessed they were all male except Snow-white. With a sigh, Maria stepped back and got ready to bolt through the fighting crowd, figuring it would be better to get out of here than stick around and die. Right before she began her jog, though, she saw a swirl of black and white to her left and turned with a feather-knife in hand to attack.

Then everything went black, and she felt strong arms pick her up.

* * *

Ryan pressed his hand against the chest of the last Darkling, and let the flames that brushed his soul brush his enemies heart. The Darkling screamed in its pitifully high voice before flaming into ashes. Finally done with disposing of the foot soldiers, he turned and jogged back to the rest of the team.

"Hey, where'd Maria go?" He asked as he counted three of his friends instead of four. He pushed the visor up to look at everyone with ice blue eyes. "She walk away, or do we need to host a rescue?" Not really a joke, that one, but easier than panicking because another of his friends was missing.

Everyone else popped up their visor, and Ty spoke clearly this time. "I look over and saw her with Cae, going into a portal."

"Well, I'm sure Cae wouldn't harm her." Dawn said after a second. "In fact, let's go talk to them both right now."

Ryan held out a hand and closed his eyes, focusing on the limited magic that Cae had granted him. A second later, he snapped his visor down and stepped through the doorway. He felt Jackson follow him, then Dawn and Ty, always in that order.

The went from a ruined gym to a paradise in a matter of seconds. The dimension was warm, but not humid like Faraday City. The air around them was clean and fresh, and wilderness surrounded them. It tapered off into a stone floored area after a small walk, a pound and pillows littering the ground. A stone chair sat high above everything, and normally, Cae would be sitting there, looking tired and worn yet queenly.

Right now, she was perched on a large pillow, looking down at Maria. Maria herself was laid out on a table of grouped pillows, her sun-streaked brown hair dark against the bright reds, whites, greens and blues.

"Nothing is wrong with her," Cae said before anyone could open their mouths. She didn't even bother to turn around. "She is merely sleeping. I believe it has been some time since she has last slept properly." There was a pause. "Dawn, if you would please attend to Ty before he bleeds on my stone?"

They all looked at Ty, who flipped his arm to show a rip in the cloth between the armored plates. Ryan winced, "Damn, Ty, you should have said something. I would have taken over your kills."

Ty shook his head, "Its not nearly as bad as it looks. Go check on Maria while Dawn and I go in for a healing session."

Dawn was the healer of the group, able to lay hands and take away wounds. They each had a special power or two. Ryan could burn with a touch, and would never be burned himself. Ty could feel your emotions, and help you calm them. Jackson always complained of having the worst; he gathered reports and voices from plants, and could ask them to do his bidding. Cae, the one who had granted them the powers, could do it all and more.

He and Jackson moved to sit beside their friend of three months. "Cae, are ya sure she's gonna be alright?" Jack asked in his usual overdone Texas drawl. Not that he could help it; growing up around his cowboy-wannabe dad and actual-cowgirl mother had influenced his way of speaking more than he'd ever admit.

"As I said, Jackson, she will be fine, as soon as she gets the sleep she needs." With that, the woman was gone, flashing atop her throne, her shimmering dress flapping around her. Her eyes closed once more, and they all knew that Cae had retired once more for the night.

Ryan and Jack both demorphed, leaving them in jeans and t-shirts, or for Ryan, a red long-sleeve muscle shirt. Jack preferred green, and t-shirts and work shirts to Ryan's tank tops or lack of shirt. Their leader was a real showoff, Jack would always say, shaking his head. He just thought it now.

Flopping back on the pillowed ground, Ryan stared at the jewel-blue sky, his ice blue eyes warm and welcoming. "So how goes single life?" He asked Jack, who had just recently parted with his girlfriend by mutual consent.

"Bo-ring, but only as much as having a girlfriend was. Maybe I should switch to boys..." He muttered.

Ryan snickered, "I'm sure Ty would like that."

"I heard that!" The blue ranger shouted from the healing wing. "And I wouldn't date you in a million years, plant boy!"

"Only 'cause you has a steady boyfriend." Jack shouted back, "Otherwise you'd be all up in my pants!"

"Would y'all shut up? I can't concentrate over the noise!" Dawn screeched, sticking her head around the corner, blond hair falling around her face now that she was in her civvies.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" They all shouted out, falling into laughter at her indignant screech. Except Ty, of course, who was behaving because she could make his healing a tad bit more painful than it usually was.

"But yeah, life's good. Except, ya know, the Darklings and the Power Ranger parts." Jackson said, falling back to their former conversation after a few seconds of laughing.

"Bet that puts a damper on things." Ryan said seriously. He had his own share of troubles from it.

Jack understood not to say anything. If there was one thing Ryan hated, it was sympathy for his losses. Ryan and his father were close, or had been. Jack despised his own father, but to imagine loosing him was unbearable. So yeah, he could understand that Ryan hated to have it mentioned.

"Hey, you got the history grade back in, right? What'd ya get?" Jackson asked after a second.

"A hundred. Probably the only one for the year." With this, Ryan leaned up on his elbow, and said to Maria's unconsciousness body, "Yo! Maria! We got a hundred on that project, just thought you should know even if you were sleeping."

Jackson shook his head as Ryan hit the ground again. "Anyone ever tell you that you got some screws loose?"

"Yeah, and you know what I say?" They both grinned and quoted it at the same time.

"The insane have more fun!"


	4. Introductions

A.U: Okay, I lied. I'm updating again. And thinking of changing the rating to M, 'cause I use the f-bomb.

Does Cae remind anyone else of Raven from the Teen Titans, by the way?

* * *

Chapter Three : Introductions

Maria came awake to the feeling of sunlight on her face, bird chirping and the air fresh and clean. "Damn, can someone turn off the lights and go get a bee bee gun?" She asked weakly.

"I'd advise against it. The bird are not like the ones on earth; they will defend themselves." A calm voice said from beside her.

She jerked up, narrowly missing hitting the woman with her forehead. She remembered now, being attacked and taken by this woman...Who was sitting beside her, looking serene and peaceful. Her hair was in a bun, a few strands, some black and some silver, falling around her face. Her skin was pure white, her dress a shimmering of different colors, yet no color at all. Crystals stared at her from eye sockets.

"Who the hell are you?" She blurted out. Then blinked, "Okay, sorry about that. But who are you?" She corrected herself, using the manners she briefly remembered learning.

"My name is Caelan, and I am the Mistress of this land." She said calm, like it was something said everyday. "Your friends refer to me as Cae, and you might as well, if you wish."

"Why don't I just call you memory and get the hell outa here." Maria offered after a second.

"You may if you wish," Cae said, surprising Maria. "First, though, I wish to offer you something." She stood, "Follow me, if you please."

Maria did as she was asked, following closely. "I've been watching you for a long time, Mercedes. Yes, I know your name, as well as most of your person history. I know of your family, and your father. I know of the life you lived, for I watched it all happen, if only in glimpses and dreams." She smiled slightly, "I'm a seer, a sorceress and a demon's daughter."

Maria blinked and took it all in. Then Cae continued, "You are a fighter, and even though you have broken law after law, you still have a sense of justice to rival my own. You will fight for the weak and do whatever it takes to save yourself and your family and friends." Her smile vanished, "We need your kind in these future days. A great evil is coming, and I'll need your help."

"Okay, okay, you want my help, you expand on the story and tell me what I'll have to do." Maria said after a second of silence.

"So I shall." She dipped her head in agreement. "Many years ago, a great evil took over and almost destroyed the universe. A group of five warriors, led by the traitor general of the evil army, locked him into hell. They feared one day that the lock would be broken, and they made a pact. They gave up their souls when they passed over, these five warriors, and placed the gems that had once been them under the care of the sixth warrior, an immortal. The sixth warrior slept, only to disturbed now, thousands of eons later, by the evil." She paused to catch her breath.

"The lock is weakening, the binding spell waring off. He has not broken free yet, and may not, but his minions are comings to the surface as we speak. I am alone now, or I was. I cannot fight him alone, if only because I cannot stay awake for very long. The spell was that I would fully wake when the great evil hit the surface, you understand." It wasn't a question. "To prevent his army from taking this world without defenders, I have recruited four warriors and given them powers."

Cae stopped now, and stepped aside, showing a group of five pedestals. A pillow on each was empty save one. A black jewel glittered on the farthest one, shinning in the sunlight, almost sucking it up. She stepped forward to get a better look, only to be stopped by Cae.

"That is the fifth and final soul gem, the one that belonged to the second-in-command of the army of light. The Black Soul, a soul that has seen much but someone, has kept its pure and honest quality. That is you, no matter what you say. By taking the jewel, you will become the Black Power Ranger, able to control and blend with shadows and darkness." She paused, "By taking this gem, you open yourself to evil. The hardest soul gem to wield, I believe, because it is easily corrupted."

"If you trust yourself, and if you believe your friends can keep you from pushing the boundary, take it. Understand that with this power comes the responsibility to protect innocent life and defeat great evil. You will never be normal after you take that stone." Cae said softly.

Maria stepped back, dropping her hand. "I...don't know. I really don't. Can I handle that much power, is the question I keep asking myself." She threw a look at Cae, as if asking.

Cae smiled softly. "If you are asking yourself that question, then the answer is most likely yes." She nodded at the gem. "Take it, for I believe it will someone come to your possession in the end."

Maria hesitated just a single second more, then took the steps towards her new life. Her hand landed on the gem, and she gasped, feeling the power that touched her even deeper than her soul. She felt strong hands catch her before she hit the ground, but she could only moan and clutch her hand tighter around the jewel.

* * *

"What the fuck, Cae?" He yelped, picking her up bridal-style and moving down the path. "We leave for five minutes, and you almost kill out friend!"

Cae sighed, "I did not harm her. This is the same thing that happened to you all when you began your journey."

"_We _didn't collapse and stop breathing for a few second!" Jack snapped, always on his leader's side.

"I'm agree with Cae. I think this is normal." Dawn said after a second, trotting to keep up with Ryan.

Ty said nothing, only followed. Cae sighed once more, "Fine. I will leave you to explain the rules to your new teammate. She will be confused when she awake once more."

A second later, and Cae was gone. Ty finally spoke up, "You know, you guys are really hard on her. She's only doing what she thinks is best."

Jackson sighed as he made room for Maria once more on the pillows. "I know; I just can't help but dislike her, ya know? She did take Syd from us."

"Syd took herself." Dawn said quietly, taking her place beside Maria, taking her pulse. "She corrupted herself. She became the host of evil. Caelan has nothing to do with that."

Ty opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Ryan. "Okay, enough. We got an issue on the outskirts of town. Ty, you stay here with Maria, she seems to connect with you best. The rest of us will go take care of the problems."

The rest of the team stood as Ty watched, and he felt a spike of envy that he wasn't the one to go. Ryan closed his eyes, and a second later was engulfed by red light. The same with Dawn and Jack, despite the color differences. When the flashes of light melted away, the rangers were left, Dawn in her white, Jack in his green and Ryan in red.

Cae waved her hand, sending them down to earth with only a glance from Ryan. Then she closed her eyes once more and waited for the battle to end, for her power to be needed once more.

_The dream was odd, as odd the conversation this morning had been. She stood in the middle of a plain, the moon at its midnight position, the crescent bright silver. The sky was black, with not a single star, so the moon itself was the single light, and that was dim as always. _

"Do not fear." _The voice came from nowhere, but everywhere, and she knew this for the same reason she knew she should be afraid. Too bad she didn't like fear. _"We are nothing but the shadows, and we cannot hurt you, not unless you will us to."

_She was silent for a second. _"Why only if I will you to?"

_The answer was said simply, _"Because we are you, and we do only what you wish us to do."

"So if I wanted to go rob a bank or go kill myself, you'd help me." _She asked, though she had no thought of doing either. _

_The air swirled around her in a mess of darkness. _"If you wished to rob a bank, we would make sure you were not hurt. If you wished to die, we would kill you in a painless way."

_That's lovely, she thought. _"You're the shadow gem, right?" _She asked after a second. _

"Yes." _Another simple reply. _

_She wondered..._ "Is it like this for the other gems?"

_Not a simple reply this time. _"No. The other gems are purely good. They would not help you rob a bank, or to kill yourself or innocences. We would. I am what you make me, while the other jewels are to influence those they belong to."

"This isn't a dream, is it?" _She asked, finally getting it. _"You're a part of me. I'm talking to me, yet not me?"

"Correct." _The air replied. _"I am like another soul in your body, and you are talking to me."

"Will I always be able to talk to you, or only sometimes?" _She asked out, tucking honey-streaked hair behind a pierced ear. _

"In the greatest danger, you will speak to me. If your life is in danger, and you need me to protect you, I will become you. Otherwise, I will be silent, only present in dreams and visions." _The wind whispered to her._

_This could be really creepy, but for some reason, it wasn't, she thought. "_What is your name? So I'll be able to call you what you want when I talk to you?"

"I have no remembered name. It was lost when my human soul died many years ago." _The reply was sad, almost as if the loose soul was crying. _

_"_Oh." _A single simple reply from her. _

_The wind took a sigh. "_You must leave now. I will meet you in your dreams again."

_The ground began to shake and the moon was suddenly brighter, spilling white light down upon her. The stars blinked to life and the air was no longer clean and dark but bright and filled with voices. She blinked her eyes open and was suddenly staring at the sky..._

_

* * *

  
_

Then she was staring into warm brown eyes that she recognized. "Ty? What the hell are you doing here?"

"How many times, I wonder, have you said hell in the past two days?" He asked me, then shook his head. "Don't answer that."

"I won't, but you will." She said tightly, glaring.

"Oh, come on. You're smart, probably smarter than the rest of us. Surely you can figure it out?" He asked, enjoying it.

_"_Green or blue?" She asked after a second, motioning towards his tie-dyed shirt.

"Blue. Color of calm water." He joked.

"Bull. Shit." She said promptly, causing him to laugh. "Now how long have y'all been Rangers?"

"Ryan was the first one, about a month before school started. Then Dawn was given the powers of the White Light, as we call them, and Jack and I got ours." He shrugged, "She took us here, Cae, and told us we were needed, blah, blah, blah. You know, you heard."

She nodded, "Yeah, she told me before I passed out and started talking to souls." She said after a second. "Kinda freaked me out for a second, ya know?"

Ty laughed, "Completely understandable. You'll get used to it, though, no worries there." He stood and offered her a hand up. "Cae told me to tell ya 'bout the rules and stuff while the others are out fightin'. That okay with you?"

She nodded. "That means you're gonna tell me how to..." She motioned at her clothing.

He nodded and laughed. "Yeah, but that comes later. In fact, if we go fast enough, I might take you down to the next fight."

"Well, then." She motioned for him to hurry.

"Basically, our powers revolve around a magical connection to the Power Grid, which I don't completely understand yet. Still, when you say or think the right words and direct that energy at the Soul Gem your holding, you'll morph. Only, of course, if the Soul Gem has chosen you and is okay with it." He paused and licked his lips. "They are Souls, a complete person and their views in a stone for our use. Anyway."

Another pause. "No using power for self gain. We are here to help innocents only, nothing more, nothing less. We keep our identities secret, to protect our family and friends, and so on. Now on to the suit." He smiled then. "The suit hides your face and voice, but it does more than that. Its lightweight armor, and protects you as well as...well, I can't imagine anything that does a better job. It improves strength and speed and durability, and keeps you cool on hot days." The last one was mostly a joke. "Each color and suit has its own 'zord and weapon set."

He held up a finger when she would have asked what a 'zord was. "The weapon set will be revealed only when the time is right. A 'zord, short for megazord, is a giant robot – yes, a giant robot – that we fight with. We haven't yet, since we've had no need. Hell, I don't even know what they are or what they look like. We'll find out later."

Finally, he took a breath and asked, "You understand all that, or should I repeat?"

"I'm good." She said faintly. "So we're based by magic. We have giant fighting robots, and are stronger and better with out suits." She repeated back. "We're good guys and we don't use our powers for our own gain."

He nodded, then grinned. "Wanna learn how to morph?" The question was one he had been waiting to ask.

"Sure, why not." Despite the fact she said it with no enthusiasm, he could tell she was excited.

"As hokey as it sounds, there are magic words – no, don't give me that look. They're easy to remember, and you'll get good enough to say them in your head." He reached into his shirt and brought out a leather cord with a stone-like jewel hanging off the end.

The stone looked like an opal, yet as she reached out and touched the surface, it felt like hers. Cool to the touch, almost like glass, with a sharp edge that seemed to pulse under the surface. "Cae will put yours on a cord too, or a ring or bracelet it you'd like. Anyway, take yours out, you'll need it."

She did, her fingers running over the smooth black surface. It wasn't plain black like before; it didn't suck in the light. Instead, when light flashed across it, other colors shimmered and glowed, never staying in the same spot or in the same shade. It was a beauty of a gem, and she couldn't help but smile when she held it.

He laughed lightly, "Yeah, we're all like that. Ryan treats his the best, keeps it in a case and everything, right near his bed. Says that otherwise the soul inside it screams at him that he'd not being treated properly." She laughed as well.

"Now, words are simple. Power Up, Black, in your case. See, simple? The hard part is mastering the emotion needed to morph. Myself? I need to be calm and serene, unruffled, to morph. Only for the morph, though. Then I can get as pissed off as I'd like." He grinned. "Dawn needs to feel compassion for those who need it. Jack says he needs to feel grounded, solid, he needs to be him. Ryan says he needs to feel the heat of anger, the warmth of fury." He shrugged, "Don't know about you."

She closed her eyes and focused on the stone in her hand, making a connection with it. Two emotions over came her, and she realized that black was the color of extremes right before it hit her. Fierce, protective love filled her, as images of her little brother and mother filled her. Her father's image came next, and blended with the pure love was fiery hate, as pure as any love would be.

"Power Up, Black." She said clearly, then winced and hissed as fire raced over her bones and skin. She felt something constricting her, then letting go slowly, though it hugged as close as any of her clothes. She opened her eyes to see everything in clearer vision, the colors brighter yet darker at the same time.

"Damn, you just had to go and choose your own style." Ty muttered, though she could tell he was smiling. His voice was in her ear, and she realized there was a mike in both sides of the helmet.

She looked at him, his green brighter but deeper from behind her visor. His helmet tapered back to a point, but like everyone else, his uniform was dark blue armor, plates with mesh of bright blue underneath. His visor was the same, just a large black strip across his helmet. He had a belt made into his armor, the buckle a large version of his gem. Boots the same as Dawn's were there, though without a silver boundary. A sword hung on one side, a complicated gun on his other.

"Everyone gets a sword, and I have a energy blaster as my other weapon. Dawn has a bow, which is pretty damn cool. Jack has axe, and Ryan gets pretty much everything; a staff, his fire, a sword, and a kick-ass magical dagger." He explained, "You, from the looks of it, have two daggers and a sword."

She shrugged, "That works. I know how to stab people, and I like knives. Makes sense they would choose me."

He rolled his eyes and gave a mock exaggerated sigh. "C'mon, let's go help them. They might not need it, but I sure as hell wanna see you in action, Blackie!"

She nodded, glancing into the waterfall-pound after a second. The last thing she saw before she was transported was herself. She looked different, but only slightly. Her skirt was armor plates like Dawn, but under the skirt was plain black mesh, and her boots stopped right above her knee. She shook her head, noting her helmet was rounded, unlike the others. Oh well. So she was still the odd one out. Who cared, when you kicked ass?

A second later, she was dropped in the middle of hell, and her thoughts left her as she fought.

"What's Maria doing here, Ty?! I sent you to watch her, not drag her into battle!" Ryan yelped into the com. link as he watched the newest ranger take out two Darklings.

"Look, you guys needed some help, and..." Ty's defensive speech was interrupted by Maria.

"Thank, Ty, but I gotta mike, I can yell at Ryan myself." She said lightly. "Ryan, I'm a ranger now, whatever you say be damned." She punctuated the statement by pivoting and throwing a dagger straight at a Darkling, hitting it in the heart. "I can be on your team, which means I help out now, not later." A punch then kick to the next one, "Or I can work alone, if you don't want me near y'all." The Darkling died.

"That's not what I meant." The other rangers paid attention even as they fought. "You've had no formal training with the team. You don't know how we work!"

"I'm calling your bullshit here and now." She said as she ducked and pushed a Darkling over Dawn's way, who shot an arrow from her crossbow. "I'm friends with y'all, have been for months. I've watched you fight once before, and I figured it out from that much exposure. Jack and Ty push them towards you. Dawn kills the first wave before it gets to you. You kill the ones she doesn't get."

She explained everything in seconds. "You still haven't trained with us! You don't have a place yet!" Ryan argued, getting weaker by the second.

"Then I'll **make **a place! Duck!" Maria said urgently, and Ryan did so right as a Darkling's hammer-shaped hand slammed sideways where his head had been. The second Ryan rolled out of distance, a dagger slammed into the creature's heart. The blade shimmered, then vanished and reappeared back in its sheathe. "Damn, that's cool."

"Thanks. That woulda hurt. Oh, and try not to curse over the coms. Dawn doesn't like." Ryan said, then sighed.

"Dang right I don't!" Dawn said indigently, figuring the argument was well over.

Jackson peeped up now, "Great ta have ya on the team, Maria. Been borin' without someone to yell at Ryan!"

It was well-known that Maria was the only person willing to get into an all-out argument or debate with Ryan. She was also one of the few to win, and brag about it without sounding like a bitch. A talent if there ever was one.

"Oh, no worries, I'll give your leader H-E double hockey sticks from now on!" Maria joked into the mike.

"Um, guys?" When he got everyone's attention, Ty lifted his arm and pointed. "I think I figured out why there's so many foot soldiers. They were wearing us down for _her_."

A portal had opened, and in this midst of them stood an old friend. The pink haired woman smiled cruelly at them, her pure black eyes taking in everything.

"I've seen you've found my replacement," Sydney Destow said lightly, "Too bad she's gotta die."

* * *

a.u : If you didn't pay attention in the first chapter, then I'll explain it : Syd was part of the group before Maria, but she 'moved'. Earlier, everyone talked about how they blames or didn't blame Cae for Syd going evil. No, I don't know what's up with that, or at least, I'm not telling. You'll find out soon anyway.

p.s : If your thinking the story has, so far, focused on Blackie / Maria / Mercy, you're right, it has. But it won't for much longer. Sure, she has more drama, and there's a reason her uniform is different, but this story will not focus directly on her. In fact, it won't focus directly on any ranger. Rather, certain people get the spotlight every few chapters. Just like the episodes, m'kay?

NOW REVIEW! Please? O.o


	5. Teamwork

A/ U : I'm aiming to make this story about 15 – 25 chapter long. Stories that are too long loose readers, but I couldn't finish the Soul Gem Ranger's story in less than fifteen chapters. That's just uncool. (Hey, they have a name! Didn't even think about that, but their it is).

Oh, and in this fic, everyone's about seventeen, with Ty being the oldest at eighteen and Maria being the youngest at sixteen.

* * *

Recap :

First off, we find out about a great evil that was locked away in hell by his daughter and five warriors. The daughter went to sleep for a million or so years, only to be awakened because the spell that locked the great evil in hell was weakening. Great Evil has no yet awakened or even blinked, but his army is surfacing, bit by bit.

There are five rangers, lead by the demon's daughter, who is named Caelan. The Red Ranger is leader, named Ryan; Black, the newbie, is second in command and Maria (whose real name is Mercedes); White, the team healer, is Dawn, a cute little thing; Ty is the Blue Ranger, the smart and somewhat calm one; and finally, Jackson, called Jack, the Green Ranger, who has no tact and can hit harder than a freight train.

The Rangers numbered four until the third chapter, where their new friend Maria joined as the ass kickin' Black Ranger. Maria has her secrets and more than one skeleton in her closet, but the rangers have a surprise of their own : Sydney, a former friend of the group before Maria, had moved away during the school year. Turns out, Syd didn't move away, but was turned evil. She hunts the Rangers and has an eye out for the Black Ranger, who she feels replaced her.

Other things have happened to the Rangers as well. Ryan's father was murdered by evil Syd and Darklings, the minions of the Great Evil. Maria lived on the streets for thirteen years, before she was finally sent to live with a relative. Ty's gay, and finally, after years of hiding, is slowly opening up and letting people see him for who he is. Jackson has family issues, including a mother who's never there and a father who wants him to be someone he's not. And Dawn...Dawn is sweet and perfect, but who knows what goes on under her skin...

* * *

Chapter Four ;; Teamwork

Ty watched as his former friend approached, the sick feeling of helplessness consuming him once again. He remembered when Syd had been so full of life, dancing around and always joking. She had been the one everyone went to with advice, with secrets and questions. Now, she was full of hate and spite, and it was easy to read in her eyes.

"Syd." Ryan said evenly.

"I think I missed something." Maria whispered in the the com.. Her question was ignored.

"Tsk, tsk." Syd said lightly, "My name isn't Syd anymore, Ryannnn." She drawled the 'n' out. "Its Morana. You know that."

The name of death, she had hissed at them the first time they had faced her battle. The name of death is what she had given herself, because she was dead, and even better, because she was a killer.

Jack growled under his breath, then whispered in the com. link, "We need to withdraw. You remember what happened last time..."

"And what happened last time?" Maria whispered back, not giving anyone a chance to say anything.

"We got our asses handed to us." Ryan said lowly, and Ty could almost see the boy's ice blue eyes hardening.

"Yes, yes, you did, didn't you?" Syd replied, and no matter how many times she said differently, Ty still referred to her as Syd. She had the emotional pattern, the same fighting technique. The only thing different about her was the fact she had dyed her hair florescent pink and her eyes were black, no pupil, no white. All black.

Ty zoned in on the emotional track, pushing aside the anger and vengeance, like he always did. He looked for emotional clues, looking for a plan, what she had in store for them. Sometimes, people got careless and left their mental walls down, or even projected when they were excited enough. Along with empathy, he had the ability to pick up on those stay thoughts that were too loud to be kept hidden.

There was smugness and excitement, but her mental walls were hard as steel, thick as China's Great Wall. Sighing, he pulled back and tuned into the conversation. Apparently, they were just getting to the good part.

"...meet my friend," Syd flung one arm out and twisted to the side, showing off the thing standing beside her.

It was disgustingly cute. That was the only way he could describe it. Huge ears ended in a tapered point, curving inward like horns. Long, skinny arms ended in five long claws, the fifth more like a thumb than a finger. Its tail was curving, twisting, like a cat's, except the spike on the tip of it. In all, it resembled a large cat, a cat bigger than any human being and with all black fur.

Was it fur, he wondered a second later, as the light hit it. No, but it wasn't mist or shadows either. He had the funny feeling it was ash, just like the Darklings they fought. It cracked open its eyes, the green glowing and blinking at them, and the tilted its head back and screamed. It attempted to jerk away and run at them, but Syd held what looked like a chain, preventing it from going anywhere.

"Its not a high powered monster, at least not the one I was going to set loose on you," She pondered, "But really, who cares? My pet will destroy you, and I'll watch from my safe little room in hell."

Then, several things happened at once; Syd dropped the chain as the thing was charging, meaning it had a running start at them. There was a warp of light before anything else could happen, and Syd was gone in a blast of black smog, leaving nothing behind but her 'pet' made of ash.

Maria was the first to move, Ryan right behind her. As the two rangers in front, of course, they would have to move first. Otherwise, the thing would have run them over, which seemed to be its intent. They both threw themselves to the left, rolling with it and ending back to back, as if they entire thing had been choreographed.

Jack pulled Dawn out of the way, and they fell together, with Jack standing first and pulling Dawn up. Ty was the only one who hadn't moved, and when he was thrown back, he wished he had. The thing hit harder than a pissed-off Ryan in a sparring match. He hit the ground of his back, his eyes squeezed closed as he waited for the final strike.

It didn't come. "Get you _ass up now!_" Someone hissed in his ear as the pulled him out of the way. He opened his eyes, pushed Maria away and rolled to his feet, his sword drawn in seconds.

Jack hit the ground beside his feet a second later, followed closely by Dawn. Ryan was the only one fighting now, and he wasn't going to last long. "Oh no." Maria whispered, "Okay. Dawn, Ty and I are gonna go pull Ryan out of harm's way. You shoot when you have a clear shot."

A second later, Ty bolted to the left and Maria to the right, and each took a hold of Ryan's shoulders. They yanked him down, and there was a thud as the arrow hit the monster in the chest, followed by three other similar sounds. The thing stilled long enough for the group to bolt backwards, joining the rest of the team.

"Well, it wasn't that hard, was it?" Ryan panted after a second.

The thing reached down and tore the arrows from its chest. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" Jack was the first to speak.

"Maybe it'll just leave..." Dawn said in a small, hopeful voice.

"Yeah, because that's likely to happen. Is this the first time y'all faced something like this?" Maria asked after a second.

"We've faced the Darklings and the generals of the Darklings, but nothing more than that." Ryan said as they watched it.

It fell back to all four feet, and it seemed to be getting ready to charge again. Before it could move again, though, it started smoking. A second later, there was a flash of smoke and it was gone. Silence reigned.

"Anyone else think that was weird?" Jackson said after a second.

"I agree." Dawn said.

"Cae!" Ryan called towards the sky, knowing she was monitoring them. "Take us back!"

* * *

"Its because the gate isn't open enough." Cae said as Ryan questioned her. She looked hesitant. "The fact that it appeared it troubling. It means the gates of hell are opening, slowly, though thank god it didn't stay."

"Why? We would have beaten it eventually." Jackson said after a second.

"That is not the point. It vanished, which means the spell is mending itself. If this pace keeps up, then you will have no need to fight." Cae explained.

"Mending itself...You never mentioned this before." Dawn said slowly.

"Before, I believed that it was merely time that had broken the seals." Cae said softly, "Now, I know for a fact that it is an attack that is cracking it open. If it is a crack, the spell will heal itself." She wave her hands, "It is hard to explain, but rest assured, the fact it vanished is a good sign."

They nodded and Cae vanished herself, as she was known to do. Maria blinked and flopped back into the pillows she had come to love in just this short time. "Okay, first I was attacked, then I became a Ranger. I met the final member of your group, who now seems to hate you, and I learned that the spell is being attacked and that the Darklings aren't the only members of the army." She gripped, "What else have you all left out?"

Ryan sighed and sat beside her, Ty on her other side. Dawn pushed Jackson off his seat and took it, and he ended up laying on the ground. Everyone was quite for a moment, then Ryan spoke. "I supposed I should explain about Syd, huh?" He seemed to be reluctant.

"Yeah, that would be a good start. Knowing the facts makes life easier." She said causticly.

He flopped to his back, running a hand through sweat-dampened hair. "Syd...Syd was my girlfriend and the group's youngest member, and the first to discover I was the Red Ranger, long before anyone else had their gem. She kept my secret, and in return, I took her to meet Cae, who, I had hoped, would offer her a gem. I was wrong. Cae went ballistic and kicked her out, threatening to erase her memories. I refused to let her do that, but after that, Syd and I were distant."

He paused, biting his lower lip. "Then the rest of us became Rangers, and as not to keep her out of the loop, I told Syd. She was angry, full of rage, because she thought she wasn't good enough. She was right. She was full of hate for her family, and Cae had sensed the hate, sending her out. She became even worse after that; she started becoming hurtful and cruel to the others as well me. Soon after, we broke up and she quite hanging out with the group."

"She said she was moving, that her father got a new job in Arizona." Jackson took over. "She had lied. We found out later that her parents and younger sister had been murdered, and she had vanished. Everyone searched, but she was just...gone. Until out third battle as a team." He paused and Dawn took over.

"Syd was different, and she started calling herself by another name. She had powers even greater than ours, and the first time, she beat us into pulp." The girl said, pushing blonde hair out of her face. "She said she would kill us, and she would kill our friends. She made the threats graphic, then told us she would let us live for now."

Ty had said nothing until now. "I'm guessing she's going to be after you, because she seems to last place on the team as rightfully hers'. In fact, you became the fifth of the group, a place that was hers' at one time. She'll go after you, see you as a replacement."

Maria scowled, "Well, we'll just have to be ready for her when the time comes." She said darkly, eyes snapping fire at the thought of someone hurting the ones they should love.

"We'll have to practice a lot more. We'll have to get ready as a team." Ryan said after a second. "If we really want to beat her, and the army she's helping, we're going to need to be a until, a team. We'll need practice, hard work and determination."

Dawn nodded, "Even more than that, we'll have to learn each other, know almost how to reach each others minds."

Everyone gave a hum of agreement. Then Jackson smiled darkly. "We're gonna kick her ass."

* * *

A. U : Short chapter, and it took a while. The next one should be better, because,...well, you'll see.


	6. Ranger's Rising

* * *

A. U : Okay, this is gonna be a little AU [alternate universe] from the t.v show. Just a little, not much. You'll see why in a second. Also, I'm pretending that Dino Thunder is the last time the Power rangers were active.

PS : IMPORTANT NOTE: If you read this earlier, you'll have noted that Chapter Four and Five were the same. That was a mistake on my part, and I'm sorry if you're lost, confused, ect. I fixed it, it should be different. If its not, then I won't be updating for a while because I'll have killed my computer. (Kidding) ((Mostly))

* * *

Chapter Five : Ranger's Rising

"We cannot," She said as she knocked the final Darkling towards Ryan, "Keep doing this."

"I _know,_" He growled as he pushed into the creature with flaming hands, "But there isn't anywhere else to practice. The gym doesn't have enough room for us."

Ty looked around the field, noting all the piles of ashes. "I don't see why not. I mean, we're getting better."

"But its not _practice_." Maria protested. "We need to learn each others' moves, how they move. We aren't just gonna be fighting Darklings, ya know."

Jackson pipped up then, wiping sweat from his forehead. "She's right. These things are easy," He kicked a pile of ash. "It doesn't matter how we do it, we end up winning, but what if something like before comes along again? We'd be trashed. Again."

Dawn bit her lip, "I believe that Maria and Jack are right." She said softly, "We need a better practice area."

Ryan threw up his hands, "_Where?" _He finally asked, rather loudly, on his last nerve.

Maria sighed and popped in a bit of advice. "We have a huge gym at my house. I wasn't going to suggest it, but if we really need it..."

Ryan swirled his head around to blink at Maria. "And you didn't tell me before? Do you have any idea how much trouble this would have saved?"

"Oh, shut up." She snapped back, "My uncle uses it a lot, or did. Recently, though, he's been gone a lot during the days, which means its been empty." She explained, not bothering to reply to Ryan's questions. "The room is huge, takes up the entire basement, and had weights and mats. Its almost like a dodjo."

Swallowing his temper, Ryan nodded, "If we could use your gym, it would save a lot of trouble."

Dawn cleared her throat, taking her hair out of her ponytail. "Can we discuss this later? I have to be home in an hour." She pointed out.

Ty nodded, "I have a date with Michael. He'll skin me if I'm late."

The last person to speak was Jack, "I've nothing to do, but I don't wanna spend my time listening to you two argue."

Maria rolled her eyes as Ryan let out an aggravated sigh. "Fine, you go do your things." He growled, "Meet at Maria's tomorrow at..." He looked at her for a time.

"How about twelve?" Maria said after a second of thinking. "My uncle is meeting a friend, and should be gone until about five."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways. Ty, to his beat up, mismatched blue beetle. Jack and Ryan to Ryan's car, and Dawn to her own little mustang. Maria smiled at her friend;s backs, and began trotting towards her own home, already excited for tomorrow.

* * *

She rolled over and grabbed her phone, glaring at the number on the screen. Ryan. Why the hell had she given him her number to start with? Groaning, she pressed the answer button and stuck the blackberry to her ear.

"**Why the hell are you calling me this early in the fucking morning!?"** She yelled into the phone, and she could almost feel her eye twitching.

There was silence. "Sorry?" He said softly, "But, um, Maria, its eleven thirty-five." She blinked and turned to look at the clock on the far side of the wall.

"Well, hot damn. I guess you're right." Then she blinked again. "You called because you have no idea where my house is." She stated a second later.

"I see you're a morning person." Ryan said, and she could tell he was trying not to laugh, "But basically, yes."

"You're at the coffee shop, right?" She asked as she rolled out of bed and began to strip, sticking it on speaker phone while she did so.

"Yeah. Do I go forward, straight, what?" He asked, then she heard him put his hand over the mouthpiece and faintly ask for hazel nut coffee and two cheese danishes to go.

"Are you getting me a danish? And take a left, keep going straight. I live out in the wood area." She yawned. "Tell me when you get to the fourway stop."

"Yes, I'm getting you a danish. To apologize, ya know, for jumping on you yesterday." He said awkwardly.

She dragged on a pair of sweat pants and started the water in the shower. "I'm at fault, too, ya know."

"I was mostly me, and you know it...Are you taking a shower?" He asked, seemingly surprised at the fact she might be.

"Nope, just washing my hair for a second." She said back.

"Doesn't that required taking a shower?" He asked, now curious.

"Not really. I just turn the shower on, stick my head in and use shampoo and conditioner." She said.

"Oh." There was a pause and what sounded like the car coming to a stop, "I'm there. The fourway stop, that is."

"Good. Go right, then you'll come up on a dirt road. Go past it for maybe a half-mile." She said, toweling off her hair and pulling on the sports bra next to her.

Silence for a few second. "I'm there. Now what?"

"Park there and walk back to the dirt-path," She said, amused. "Then call everyone else and tell them to do the same."

More silence. Then, "You had me part a half-mile away from your house?"

"Yep. Don't want anyone knowing there are people here. They might think its a break in and call the cops." She said, "Its happened once before when my uncle's friend was over."

"Oh." A little bit of silence. "SO you don't live with your parents?"

She tugged on a tight armor-wear short sleeve shirt and was silent for a second. Then she said, "No. My mother's dead, my step-father is in prison, and my biological father is dead. My bio father's brother is the one I'm living with."

She looked at herself in the mirror, then pulled three black hair ties down from a shelf and slipped them on her wrist. "Oh. That's harsh."

Maria looked at the phone for a second, sitting on her jewelry box and still on speaker phone. "Not really. Truthfully? I'm glad I like with my uncle. He's a better parent than anyone else in my family."

She yanked her stripped dripping hair up, brushed the water out, and put it in one of the hair ties. He was silent, and she heard him sip his coffee. "Kinda the opposite with me. My dad was a good father, always there for me. My aunt...well, she and my mom aren't exactly model parents, ya know?"

She sighed and said, "Yeah, I know." She glanced at the clock, and said, "Call the others, okay? I'll be down in a sec to let you in." A single glance down the window and she saw that was how long she had before he got to her front door. "TTYL." She spoke the last ones teasingly and hit the end button before jogging down the hallway and towards the front door.

Maria blinked when she opened the door. Ryan stood there, hair ungeled, with a pastry bag in one hand, a coffee in the other, and a phone between his shoulder and his ear. He mouthed help me before telling the others where her house was.

She reached out to take the coffee, but ended up with the bag and a glare. "I'll talk to you when you get here." Ryan said, then used his now free hand to hang up. "No touching the coffee, blackie." He said, only half messing around.

"Fine, fine, but get your butt in here. Its cold out there and my hair is wet." She reached out and pulled him in just as he slipped the phone into his pocket.

He stumbled in and looked around. "Did you design the house, because it looks like you."

The foyer was black and white, and everything was clean and modern. "Nope, that was my uncle. He likes black and white as well. Maybe it runs in the family."

Ryan smiled and shook his head. "It the entire house like this?"

"Once again, nope. The living room is a oliver green, or two walls are. The kitchen is all red." She said, leading him towards said kitchen, the pastry bag clutched in her left hand.

"Red? Ha. Red, black, white, and green; you're only missing blue." Ryan snickered.

"That's what I've been thinking recently." She said, smiling. "Welcome to heaven, Ryan."

Then she rounded the corner and led him into a dark red kitchen, a white star hanging right above the stove. The red was warm rather than bright, and Ryan almost drooled, looking at it. "I love your house," He declared, looking at the walls that matched his shirt and hair.

"I know," She sounded smug as she took the danishes from the bag and pulled out two paper plates. She handed one to Ryan and kept the other for herself. "I love it too."

"Ty's gonna be mad though. His color is the only one not in the house," He said.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy the look on his face." Then she paused, "Of course, the mats are blue, but does that count?"

They laughed and finished eating, then moved to the living room to wait for the rest of the team. "You're right, it is green."

"Of course I'm right. I'm not color blind, ya know." She said lightly, flopping beside him into one of the cream couches.

There was a slight pause for him, then... "I wonder if there has ever been a color blind Power Ranger."

She stopped to think, "You know, that's kinda like asking if vegetarians eat animal crackers. No one really knows, not even a vegetarian."

He nodded, "The puzzles of the universe." His voice was solemn and his face mock serious, and she just had to laugh.

Just as they were through with, what she would consider nasty later, jokes, someone knocked on the front door. Darting up, she made her way towards the front door, Ryan following her.

Throwing it open, she shielded her eyes and looked at her other three friends. "Come in! Did y'all already eat, or do you want breakfast first?"

"We picked up food while we were waiting for Ty to pick us up." Jackson said, and Ty merely smiled in a smug way. "I got breakfast, all right."

Ryan pulled a face, "Dude, didn't need to know that."

Dawn was the one who finally pulled them all to the reason they were there. "Are we ever going to practice, or just stand here and talk?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise, and Jackson asked, "You okay? You were quite coming over here, too."

"I'm _fine. _I just skipped ridding lessons, that's all, and I'm not too happy about it." She said, sighing and pulling a tired sigh.

Maria gave her friend a quick side hug. "Next time, we'll ask you when you want to do it, okay? That way you won't miss anymore."

Dawn nodded, and she and Maria both smiled. "On to the gym, then!"

* * *

Four hours later, and no one was in the same good mood as before. They had taken an hour long break between one and two, and were now thinking about taking another. Ryan insisted that they get Alpha Pattern down before they do anything else, though.

It was less an attack pattern and more of team building thing, as Ryan had explained it. When they were doing Xtreme, in his former martial arts school, they did something similar. It looked nice and it built trust and faith in both the ability and there other person.

In was useless for fighting, but to fight well, you had to know your partner and this was the reason for the Alpha Pattern. Ryan would go first, taking a flip from a stand still and moving over a distance of two people. They had Jackson and Ty stand there once, and mapped it out. Ryan would flip over the tapped area on the mat and land in a crouch.

Ty and Jackson would take a slight running start, which would slowly become shorter and shorter, and use flip flops. They would finally twist over each other and land farthest from Ryan, both on a piece of tap that was right across from where the other was.

Finally, at an even higher level, Dawn and Maria would back flip to gain momentum. When they were near enough, they would do a spring and twist their bodies above the other. Dawn would land in Jackson's arms, and he would put her down. Maria would do the same with Ty, and she would always pray he was paying attention. He usually was.

"One, two...GO!" Ryan shouted, then took his flip, followed by Ty and Jack. Dawn and Maria both stuck theirs, and a second later, feet hit the group and a cheer went up.

"FINALLY!" Jackson yelped, spinning Dawn in a circle. "This means we can take a break, right?"

"Sure, if you need one." Ryan said, smiling. He was sweating, but not really tired or even panting yet.

"I'm good." Maria said, used to the work outs from her times as both a gymnast and a martial artist.

"I'm totally not." Ty said, or rather, rasped. "I'm taking a break."

"I agree with Ty." Dawn said, her own voice harsh as she struggled to breath.

Jackson merely hummed, draining water from one of the many that Maria had brought downstairs.

Maria tsked and shook her head at them. "Wimps." She and Ryan exchanged a smile. Then an idea hit her. "Hey, wanna spar?"

Ryan blinked, then started to nod. "Wait. No equipment."

"We don't need it." She breezed by him to take a stand, her back to the door. For her, the was a huge thing; it meant she trusted the others to warn her if anything should come through said door and try to attack. "We have a healer, and besides that, we won't hurt each other."

He locked his jaw, then nodded. "Sure. I'm pulling them, though. No full force."

"'Course not." She smiled serenely, "You go first."

He smirked evilly. "Of course."

That was the last word spoken, and a flurry of punches, kicks, blocks, lunges and several other unnameable things came. They went for at least three straight minutes before Maria finally lost her footing and Ryan landed a strong side kick. It hit her in the chest, which made her glad she wore a sports bra, and sent her rolling.

She was stopped by a pair of legs, and took a gasping breath before opening her eyes. "Oh," She took a deep breathe, "Shit."

Tommy Oliver ignored his niece's statement as he looked up and asked, "What in the world is going on?"

* * *

a.u : Did anyone else totally see that coming? I hope so. I mean, black, white, green and red interior, a huge red star in a red kitchen? C'mon, so many clues.

Well, that's it for today. Hope you like cliffhangers! I know I hate them. O.O


	7. The Not So Much Fun Instanity

a.n : that was thirteen – 13 – freakin' pages!!! (and the reason why I haven't updated in forever)

And I just realized that I got the ages wrong. If Maria was born seventeen years ago, then Tommy's brother would have had to be about sixteen, depending on if he was older. So I"m gonna make this a little AU at the age part, okay? Here's the little chart :

Maria (and most of her friends) → 17 – born 1992

Tommy (and almost all the other rangers he served with) → 31 - born 1978

David Trueheart – born 1976 → 19 when Maria was born.

Chapter Six : The Silver and the Gold

Tommy dropped his head to his hands, massaging his temples yet again. "Look, I'm not mad at you for using the gym, I'm really not. In fact, I'm glad you're showing an interest in it. That _doesn't _mean you may use it while I'm gone and spar without equipment, not to mention do gymnastics while you have no adult spotter."

"Look, no one was hurt, and both Ryan and I have enough control not to hurt each other. Plus, Dawn has medical training, since she interned with her mother every summer since freshman year." Maria snapped back, and Tommy had to hold back a groan. Why were teenagers so much trouble? Why couldn't she be like him when he was her age? Keeping a low profile, following the rules...It wouldn't be that hard for her, would it?

"No matter how experienced you are, you can still get hurt," Jason pushed his words in. Apparently, Jason, Tommy's best friend, would be living with them for a while, though Maria hadn't been told. They had been coming home to surprise her when they found her sparring without gear and with a strange guy.

She didn't know him well, though he did come and visit every month or so. Jason had taught her some moves, given her tips, but otherwise avoided her like she was the plague. She had no idea why, and frankly, she didn't care. So why he thought he had the right to bump into her private discussions with Tommy, she had no idea. In fact, it kinda pissed her off, and considering she was already pissed...

"You aren't my father, my brother, my friend, uncle or guardian." She snarled, "All you are is some strange guy who happens to as of now be living with us. So what gives you the goddamn right to butt into my life, into a conversation that I was having with the only guy who has the right to tell me what to do?" It was harsh and a little over the top, and she knew she would regret it later, but she didn't like orders, or people who gave them.

Jason felt his temper spike and had to remind himself that this wasn't one of his students, not a teammate or employee. He couldn't chew her out like he would another adult. Dammit, sometimes he hated teenagers. "I have the right to tell you what to do as a more experienced fighter and an older person in general." His voice was silky smooth, and he knew Tommy heard the warm edge. "You owe enough respect to both of us to not argue."

"You know what? I'm done with this." She surged to her feet from the cream colored suede couch with a flourish. "When you guys are done treating me like a child, call me. I think you have my number." She yelled over her shoulder as she stamped up the stairs like the sullen teenager she was.

They were both silent for a second. "Reminds me of Kim when she's in a snit...Just with an easier trigger and a lot less brain." Jason finally said, still watching the stairs.

"Oh, she has a brain. Take a look at her grades and study habits and you can tell straight off," Tommy replied, shaking his head. "She's just annoyed that there's a new guy trying to order her around." He snorted, "Shoulda seen her the first time I decided to put my foot down and tell her she needed to quite her job and focus on school. Made this look like a hugs-and-kisses session."

Jason hummed, and the two former rangers let silence fall between them. "She didn't know I was moving in," A statement of fact, because they'd both seen Maria's look when they'd introduced the first red ranger as a live in house guest. "Does that mean she doesn't know about the camping trip you're dragging her on?"

"She has no idea. I was going to tell her after the barbecue tonight, but she probably won't want to go." Tommy replied, shaking his head. He'd really been looking forward to it, but if Maria wasn't going, he wasn't going to make her.

Some of the original ranger team and the Zeo team were getting together, like they did every few months, for a cookout and camp out afterwards. Kat, Adam, Rocky, Aisha; they had invited others, but no one else could make it. They hadn't even been able to contact Billy, who was still on Aquirtar with his wife.

"Why don't you ask her after she's calmed down? It might give her time to think." Jason suggested, then had the decency to look shameful when Tommy glared at it. "Okay, maybe I was a bit harsh, but she needs to learn respect!" His former leader, then former teammate, objected.

Tommy rolled his eyes and stood, stretching. "Well, we have till six, so that leaves us," He glanced at the clock on the olive colored wall. "Two hours. I'll give her about an hour to calm down, then ask her."

An hour later, Tommy knocked on his ward's door, opening it when she yelled out 'come in'. She sat on her floor, a piece of plywood under her feet and a bottle of nail polish at her ankle. She'd dug the wood out from his garage and painted it, and he'd seen her flip it and paint her nails on it time after time. She was a rather talented artist, as it showed on the board and her toes. He looked over her shoulder and realized that they were silver. She was using a black paint pen, or what looked like one, to finish the design on her big toe. A black curved lightning bolt was stark against the silver of her nail, and he couldn't help but smile at her use of the power ranger's universal symbol.

"You know, that's the Power Ranger symbol." He pointed out, sitting on her bed and watching her. "The symbol of warriors of justice and protection, or at least the original team."

She froze and looked up at him, blinking. Then she went back to finishing it, "I forgot you used to live in Angel Grove, Power Ranger central." She said, finally twisting the top back on. "Put this up, will you?" She held the bottles out to his and he put them on her nightstand. "Well, I saw this somewhere, can't remember where, and thought it would look cool."

He nodded; she'd probably seen it somewhere around his house. Then he cleared his throat, "Some friends are coming over, and we're having hot dogs and hamburgers." He paused, mirroring her movements, or lack of them, as she froze once more.

"I'll stay up in my room if you don't want me to show." Maria finally said, flicking him a glance as she inspected her work. "Or I can head over to the coffee shop."

"I was hoping you'd come down, maybe socialize a bit. My friends want to meet you. They said they want to meet the girl I've been taking care of," He said carefully, knowing the wrong thing could make her explode or even retreat into herself again. She came to him in the latter phase, not speaking much, never meeting his eyes and always on guard. It'd taken a while, but now she trusted him.

She met his eyes and looked at him for a second, then back down at her nails. "I might as well show off my nails." She said after a second, which he took as a yes.

"They'll be here in an hour. Its casual, by the way. Jeans and a t-shirt." Tommy said, finally grinning and standing with the energy that was bottled up inside him. Then he left, closing the door softly behind him.

The former green, white, red and black ranger bypassed the stairs completely and jumped over the railing. It wasn't a huge leap, and he'd jumped worse in his days as a ranger and martial artist both. He landed on the balls of his feet, then made his way back towards the guest room, which was now Jason's room. The former red ranger was still unpacking.

Jason ran a dojo chain that was centered in Angel Grove, _Red Dragon Karate, _as it was called. He worked his butt off pretty much twenty-four-seven, and had decided that it was time to take a break, a really long break. He'd placed his most trusted employee in charge while he was gone. So far, he hadn't decided on an end-date for his 'vacation'. The fact that he choose to take a take a vacation and room with Tommy in the exact place where there had been rumors of a monster attack wasn't lost on his host.

"She's cool with it. Said she might even come down and talk for a bit," Tommy announced as he leaned on the door jam, watching his red friend.

"I have no idea why you let that girl get away with so much," Jason commented, hanging up another red shirt. Even though they weren't rangers anymore, they still preferred the color that they had been. No one really knew why the color love had continued on, but it had. "If she were my kid..." He trailed off.

In karate and in general life, both he and Tommy had respected their elders. Maria didn't, and she treated rules more like suggestions and bad ones at that, from what Tommy had said. "But we're not her parents; in fact, we're both just strangers to her." Tommy shrugged as he pointed the facts out. "Plus, look at what her life's been like. I can make a few allowances." Then he crossed his arms, "Besides, she's got a job, makes great grades, and seems like she's drug free. She has responsibility, if she lacks respect."

Jason sighed, shaking his head. He didn't agree, but he wasn't about to start lecturing Tommy on how to be a dad. He hadn't in experience in that area, and Tommy was a teacher. He probably knew more about troubled teens than any of the other former Power Rangers. "Wanna help me unpack?"

"Sure," He entered the room and took down several hangers. Unfolding the clothes, he hung them and held them out for his in-all-but-blood brother. "You know, you really have to buy some new colored clothes. We aren't teenagers anymore." Teenager being code for rangers when anyone else was in the house.

"And what's wrong with red?" Jason gave him a mock glare. "I remember you having a great affinity for it when we were young."

"Yeah, but now I have black, green, white, brown and even khaki." Tommy pointed out with a grin. Khaki was the only color he hadn't been, and it was the one neutral color. Orange, brown and purple were unused as ranger colors as well, but after the Ivan Ooze thing, no one really wore purple. Orange and brown were okay, but orange was a color Tommy wasn't willing to wear.

"Oh yeah, a huge selection," Jason drawled sarcastically as he hung another red muscle shirt in the closet. He seemed to have a lot of those, those and t-shirts, and more than one leather jacket. In fact, Tommy only saw one suit in the entire suitcase, but it was crumpled and still had the price tag on.

"Its better than yours," The former rainbow-ranger shot back weakly, then added, "At least I have a suit." A few of them at that, though he preferred just dress pants and a dress shirt. It wasn't like the school had a long restriction list on dressing for the teachers.

"Why the hell would I need a suit? I teach kids karate, not attend business meetings." Jason growled, stuffing a pair of faded blue jeans in a drawer. Another pair joined them, and soon, the suitcase had only the suit and socks, underwear and a pair of sneakers, with, of course, red laces.

"Once again, high school much?" Tommy asked, holding a sneaker up by the laces. The bow looked like it was glued together, and Tommy couldn't help but wonder how much time had passed since Jason had untied and retied them.

"Actually, they're from my senior year of high school," Jason said with a straight face. When Tommy dropped it like it was a snake, Jason burst out laughing, wondering how Tommy could be so naïve after so many battles and years.

"That was so not even funny," Tommy snapped, though a smile was tugging on his lips. Jason rarely pulled things like that, since it was more of Zack or Rocky's gig, but when he did, no one could find it in them to be angry.

Jason was about to speak when the doorbell rang. Tommy's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and they both glanced at their watches, or rather, Tommy glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well, someone was excited to get here," Jason said, since it was around thirty minutes early.

Shrugging, Tommy made his way to the front door, Jason leaning against the entrance to the foyer behind him. Jackson, one of the boys that Tommy had sent home, stood in the doorway, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and shoulders high. He looked defiant, and the black eye, split lip and torn jeans didn't help much either.

Tommy was about to demand what he was doing here when the guy spoke. "Please don't throw me about. I just want to talk to Maria." A light accent marked his voice, one that sounded Texas to Tommy's ears, or at the like the Texas from the movies.

Tommy moved his head and caught Jason's eye. Jason gave a barely there nod, saying that he thought it was okay. Besides, they could always take care of the kid if he tried to harm anyone. "Come in," His tone wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm or welcoming, either. A neutral tone, adopted for the detention kids.

Jack stepped in the entrance just as Jason trotted up the stairs. What seemed like hours later to the green ranger, with Maria's uncle staring at him, the other guy and Maria came down. She wore a red tank top and black jeans, no shoes, and a black button up shirt was draped over on arm. He noticed her black gem right away, as it hung in the middle of her chest. Like called to like, he thought wearily, as his own gem flared with power against his chest.

"Jason said you wanted to..." He could tell the second she saw the black eye and split lip. He turned towards her, and she trailed off. "DAMMIT!"

The word surprised both Tommy and Jason, the former of who snapped out for her to watch her mouth. Maria didn't seem to hear it, Jack thought, amused, as she moved towards him. "Not as bad as it looks," He said, then winced as she tilted his chin down and feathered her fingers over his split lip and the area near his eye.

"Bull. Shit." Once again, the two older men in the room winced at the black ranger's language. "Its bad, and don't try to tell me differently. Now come on, I've gotta get that cleaned up."

He blinked, wondering what she meant. Then he realized he was probably bleeding from his lip and the place where the ring had grazed his skin. "Lead the way, commander." He teased, grinning then flinching as his lip split worse.

"Hey, Tommy, where's the first aid?" She asked, finally looking at her narrow-eyed uncle. She met his eyes steadily, daring his to make a comment on Jack's appearance. She didn't think he would, but people were unpredictable.

"The main bathroom, but why don't you use the kitchen table? It has better lighting, and I can bring the kit in there." Tommy said after a second. Maria nodded, Jack felt relived and Jason said nothing, just followed them into the kitchen.

"Sit," Maria ordered, pointing at a chair near the doorway. She turned around and opened the freezer, pulling an icepack out of it. A second later, she yanked a paper towel from the roll on the counter. She wrapped the squishy icepack with the towel and handed it to him. "Put this on to keep the swelling down."

"Why the paper towel?" Jason asked, sounding curious. Obviously, Jack thought, he didn't have much experience with bruises or black eyes.

Jack groaned as the cold touched his eye and the area near it. He kept one eye closed, though his other eye focused on Jason. "Plain ice shocks you, but if you wrap it in a paper towel, it'll be cold enough to reduce swelling but warm enough to not, you know, give that icy burn."

The guy in red smiled a bit, "Shoulda guessed." Then Tommy swung into the room and put the kit on the table. He made to open it, but Maria beat him to it.

"My friend. I'll do it." She commented, and Tommy nodded, falling back beside Jason to watch.

There was silence for a second, then, "Wait. Does this mean I have to take care of myself from now on, since they're my wounds?" Jack joked, smirking just a little at Maria's scowl. He kept it light, though, not wanting to reopen the already healing cut on his lip.

"Hell. No. In fact, I should send you to Dawn." Maria muttered to him, though Jason and Tommy heard her clearly. They were still there, watching. "I don't know why you came to me instead."

Tommy blinked as the doorbell rang. "Wow. More early people. Wonder if they're act guests this time," He said dryly as he pushed off the wall and made his way back to the door, Jason following. A second later, the two current rangers were alone.

"Because I don't want her to know." Jack said, other eye closing as he gritted his teeth. She was being gentle, but the small slice the ring had made right next to his eye was deep and strung a bit.

She finally finished, putting the Peroxide up. "Know what, and why can she not know?" Maria demanded as she pulled a bottle of Tylenol from the kit. She plopped two in front of his and went to fill a glass with water.

He swallowed the pills first. "That I'm who I am, yet still can't defend myself." He spoke bitterly, "That I can't keep the old man from beating on me, even with my job."

Maria was silent for a second, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. "It has nothing to do with fighting abilities, does it. You don't even fight back, do you." Neither were questions as much as statements.

Silence descended, and she let the subject drop. "You staying here for tonight?" She finally asked him as she put the dirty cup in the dishwasher.

"I was gonna hang out at a friends, but if you're offering..." He trailed off and shrugged.

"Cool. We're having guests tonight, though. My uncle's old friends from high school." She paused, "You wanna go and hang out in my room or the guest room, or come join me while I play cute little Uncle Tommy's niece?"

"You, cute and nice?" He grinned, the cut in his cheek no longer hurting or even really there. Thank god that more superficial cuts healed easily, with his link to the power grid. Bruises, since they were bleeding inside the skin, would take a little longer, but it should be gone by late afternoon the next day. "This I gotta see."

She glared at him, hands planted on her hips. "Sure, mock me now, but the next time you come to me bruised and broken, don't expect me to be so nice."

Jason poked his head around the kitchen, then. "You gonna go home, Jackson, or are you staying here for a while?"

Jack and Maria exchanged looks, then Jack shrugged. "I guess I'll hang out here for a while, since Maria offered. Hope that's okay with you, sir?" Not that it made much of a difference, Jack knew. Maria would make it happened, damned anyone else. She had a way of doing that.

"Cool with me, kid." The former red ranger flashed a grin, "And call me Jason. Sir makes me feel like an old man, something I'd like to very much ignore."

Jack snickered, while Maria dodged passed her uncle's friend to put the first aid kit. "If you call me Jack. Only my great aunt Gertrude calls me Jackson." He stood and stretched.

Jason blinked at the kid, startled. "You seriously have an aunt named Gertrude?"

Jack snorted, "'Course not, but it sure sounded nice, don't ya think?" Who would curse their child with a name like that?

"I think I'm gonna like you, Jack." Jason said, smirking. Then Tommy called out from the other room, though neither could make out what he had said. They didn't have to, though, as Maria appeared in the doorway next to Jason.

"Tommy said to get your butt out there, Jason. Something about your girlfriend and the rest of the arriving." Maria spoke in a dry tone, lifting an eyebrow as Jason bolted out of the kitchen. There was a call of 'Kat!' from somewhere in the living room, and a woman shrieked in what Maria guessed was surprise.

"Wanna join them?" Maria asked, raising an eyebrow at her teammate. Jack raised one in turn and grinned, "Ladies first."

"Fine, be a coward," She jokingly shot over her shoulder as she turned and made her way towards the living room. She was aware of Jack following at a safe distance, and couldn't blame him. She wanted to avoid all these older people, too.

She paused in the doorway, taking note of everyone. A woman with bright blonde hair had her arms wrapped around Jason's waist, and another woman stood smiling and chatting with a dark-skinned, black haired man. Another guy with curly brown hair stood next to Tommy, whispering in his ear. The blonde woman jerked from Jason's arms and grabbed a pillow, throwing it at the guy with curly brown hair. "I heard that, Rocky!"

"Oh, hey, Maria!" Tommy said, then motioned her in. "Everyone, this is my niece Maria, and her friend Jackson. That's Kat," He pointed at the blonde, "Rocky, as you've heard," everyone laughed as Tommy motioned toward the brown haired guy. "You know Jason already, and that's Adam." He didn't have to point out the last guy. "And least but not last, we have Aisha."

"Steal that from old movies, Tommy?" Rocky joked, ducking as Tommy made to smack him upside the head. It seemed to be a routine.

Aisha snickered under her breath, then said lightly, "You haven't changed at all, Rocky. Still making bad jokes, still dodging Tommy's head slaps."

"Hey, my jokes aren't that bad!" Rocky objected, and everyone seemed to chorus 'Yes they are' at the same time. Jack and Maria exchanged look at that, then rolled their eyes at each other.

The current black ranger cleared her throat, "Has Tommy already asked you if you wanted drinks, or did he forget that?"

Tommy mock scowled at everyone as they all burst out laughing, excluding Maria and Jack, who were utterly confused. "He forgot, just like he always does." Kat joked, her accent swinging free. Maria blinked at both the accent and the statement, then slowly grinned.

"Seems like there's a lot I don't know about Uncle Tommy," Maria mused, and Tommy about groaned at the look in her eye. He'd seen that evil glint in his friend's eyes right while thinking a horrible plot or prank. "Seems like you guys are the right people to tell me."

"No. Way. We are not sharing stories of the past." Tommy objected. No one seemed to listen. They were all grinning with that stupid evil glint in their eyes. "Don't you have drinks to order?"

"Actually, we packed a cooler and set it outside by the fire pit and stove." Jason remarked. "Anyone else wanna accompany me outside and tell stories by the fire?"

Thirty minutes later, Tommy was pouting by the grill, flipping hamburgers and muttering under his breath. Everyone was laughing as Kat finished her story. "And there in lies the reason I'm going to adopt ten year olds instead," Kat finished, obviously joking by all her old friend's laughs.

"You know, I gotta say, your family knows the most interesting people." Jack whispered to her with a smile. "They kinda remind me of our group."

Maria laughed and every turned to look at her and Jack. "Sorry, just trying to compare you guys to my friends, and you guys are nothing like my guys."

Jack gave her a look, "I meant as how close they are, not personality wise." She just snickered more.

"The same friends that broke into Tommy's gym?" Jason asked with a smirk. Everyone turned amazed eyes to them. "Those friends?"

"You had the guts to break into Tommy's gym? Jeez, even I wouldn't have done that," Rocky said, whistling. Apparently, Maria thought, Tommy's Gym, with a capital 'G', was a sacred place.

"I didn't 'break in', and neither did my friends." She said defensibly, "I merely picked the lock; besides, it my house too. Don't I have a right?" She wasn't going to mention that it hadn't been the first time she'd picked the lock; it had just been the first time she'd been caught.

"Technically, the house is in my name, and therefore belongs to me, not you. Not to mention picking locks is a bad thing to do." Tommy said mildly as he slid onto a chair next to Jason. "But back to happier topics. Anyone remember the time that Bulk tried to get the police chief's daughter to notice him?"

"Oh god." Aisha muttered, "That was something I never want to see again." She was chorused by 'here, here' all around, once again excluding Jack and Maria. Not that they cared much. They enjoyed the stories.

Jack was the first one to speak after that. "Hey, you all lived in Angel Grove, right? Where the Power Rangers were?" He ignored Maria's warning look, and didn't notice the sudden tenseness in the older people. "Wanna tell us about it?"

Adam was the one to answer, which was rare. He had so far been the most reserved out of all of them. "Not much to tell, really. I mean, sure, we knew they were there, but we never really stuck around to watch." He flashed a grin, "Never good to stick around and watch monster fights."

"Come on, that's all you can tell us?" Jack asked, rolling his eyes. "You lived in a monster infested town and all that. Surely there was something remotely odd that you can tell us."

"Well, we can tell you what we remember, I guess," Tommy started slowly. "You know the colors, right? Red as the leader, then black, blue, yellow and pink? Later, of course, there was green, and after that, white, who took over as leader..."

Jack interrupted, offended on behalf of his color. "And why was green later? Was green not good enough for the original?" He made it sound like a teasing question, but Maria had to snicker at what she knew he would be feeling. Hell, she would be mad if her color hadn't been listened.

Everyone exchanged glances, somewhat uncomfortable. "The green ranger started out evil," Tommy started up again, only to, once again, be interrupted by the current green ranger. "Wait, I thought black was supposed to be the corruptible one. You know, being black and all?"

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with black?" Maria asked, turning to look at her teammate. "Black is just as good as any other color. In fact, black is better than green, because green started out evil."

Adam and Tommy both made sounds in their throats at that. Each one had been a black and green rangers, and both were starting to take offense. Jack didn't let them speak, though. "Yeah? Well, green obviously overcame the evil and became a team member as good, if not better, than the others. I mean, its not everyone who overcomes evil and becomes a hero."

"Black was strong enough to resist it at the start," She argued back, "And from my research, the green ranger left the team halfway through. So not only was green evil, but he also abandoned his team. What kind of ranger does that?" She neglected the mention that the white ranger had joined a little after that and her suspicion that it was, in fact, one person.

Everyone watched in amazement as Jack argued back. "I don't think I ever heard anyone argue over green and black before," Adam whispered to Tommy, who shook his head.

"You must not have gone far enough. Black was only on the first team. The other three teams lacked a black ranger and had a green rangers, except the last one." Jack pointed out, glaring.

"So that makes two teams with black and three teams with green, though the first green was evil. Oh, and let's mention the fact that the longest running Power Rangers team had a black ranger." Maria replied, and they both stared at each other.

Then Kat butted in, trying to keep from laughing. "How about the other colors?" These two kids were amusing, at least everyone but Tommy and Adam thought so. Tommy looked as if he weren't sure where to side, being the last black ranger and the first green ranger. Adam looked almost as lost, being a black ranger then a green one.

Maria turned to blink at her. She hadn't predicted that. "I guess I never thought about those..." She muttered to herself, then, "Well, they were all good fighters, though I still think pink is too sissy a color. I mean, god, a pink superhero?"

Kat narrowed her eyes at the younger girl, but only asked mildly, "How about yellow?" Aisha glared at Kat for the question.

Jack smirked once more, letting Maria keep the floor. "An okay color, I guess." She shrugged. "I really don't have an opinion on the other Power Rangers."

"Then why such a strong reaction to black?" Tommy asked after a second, even more confused than before.

She shrugged again and felt Jack go stiff next to her. It wasn't noticeable to anyone except her, because she knew him so well and was sitting with her shoulder to his. She couldn't think of anything to say, and blinked when Jack came to the rescue. "She thinks he was hot." He sang it out, and his shoulder twitched against hers'.

She got the clue : play along. "Did not!" She said, whipping around and glaring at him. "I just admire his technique. Not many people out there can pull off those kinds of stunts!"

Jack just laughed, though everyone else was looking kind of shocked. Tommy looked a little horrified, having been the last black ranger. His own niece had thought he was hot when he had worn black spandex? He felt Jason and Rocky shaking with laughter, and even Adam was holding back a grin.

Maria was about to snap something when a song filled the yard. Jack pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket as it blared out some country song. Maria leaned over and looked at the tiny flip phone screen and read 'Ryan'. Jack stood, held a finger out and walked inside, phone to his ear. "Since when do kids have cell phones?" Kat asked after a second.

Tommy snapped out of his horrified daze and cleared his throat, saying, "Most. I have to take them up during class, since more everyone texts. I wouldn't buy Maria one, though."

Jack stuck his head outside the door, "Hey, Maria, Ryan wants to know why you haven't been answering your phone." His voice carried through the yard, and Tommy scowled at her.

"Tell him I'll call him back soon!" She shouted back, then turned a guilty smile to Tommy. "You said there was no way in hell that you would get me a cell phone. You didn't say anything about not having a phone at all."

Rocky burst out laughing. "She's got you there, Tommy." Everyone ignored him.

"And who would be nice enough to buy you a cell phone?" Tommy asked with forced patience. He'd told her the cell phones were distracting for students and there was no way she could get one.

"Dawn did, thank you very much. Can we please drop the subject until we're alone?" Maria asked softly.

Jason hummed his agreement before turning to strike up a conversation with Rocky. "Fine," Tommy said after a second, then sighed and turned to everyone. "Sorry."

Jack came out to the fire pit again, still with the phone to his ear. "He wants to talk to you. Saids it an emergency." He held the phone out.

She took it and mouthed sorry to everyone, then walked past them to the grassy part of the backyard, near where the line of trees started. "Hey, Ryan. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Dawn had a dream," Ryan said urgently. "She saw Syd attacking you, on the night of the wanning moon, when the moon is between its start and the middle. That's tonight, and very soon."

"So, its just a dream?" Maria asked, dread curling in her gut even as she said the words. Nothing was ever 'just' in their world.

"Maria, Dawn sometimes sees the future in her dreams. Its rare, but it happens when something is important and its not usually wrong," He was quite for a second. "Lets try and make it wrong this time, kay? I need you to stay inside with Jack."

Maria knew it was bad when Ryan didn't question why Jack was over. "Okay, I'll do it." She said, then started forward. "I'll have to get all my uncle's guests safe, though, first."

Whatever Ryan was saying was cut off as she was hit. She let out a grunt as she was tossed in the air and her back hit a tree, not even having the time to scream. Her wind was knocked out of her then, and the phone went flying. In front of her stood Syd, dressed in all black leather, hot pink hair cascading down her back as her hard eyes stared down at her victim.

"And even when you know you're about to die, you think of the other people." Syd chuckled under her breath, "It'd be sweet if it weren't so disgusting."

The pink haired witch keeled forward, grabbing the black ranger's collar and pulling her to her feet. A second later, a knife was produced in a flash of silver, and Maria saw Syd lift it high. She sucked in a breath, eyes wide as she prepared herself. "Hope you enjoyed that last breath, because its gonna be your last," Syd sang.

Then the knife descended.


	8. Secrets and Hysteria

A .N : Okay, three things: a) I'm working without a beta reader. b) I write these chapters at, like, ten thirty to midnight. So all mistakes? Totally justified; no flaming because of them. Oh, and c) I know what the chapter selection titles mean, but no idea about the titles inside the chapter. Don't ask, I won't know. Okay?

Chapter Eight

* * *

She stared up at her murderer in confusion, wondering why she wasn't feeling pain. Then she glanced down and realized that there was a heavy vine in front of her, and the knife was stuck in it. Maria didn't have to ask how, because not only did she know Jack's handiwork, but she heard him shout her name, along with others. "Looks like you just failed." Maria whispered, then smirked, "Again." Her air was slowly coming back to her, which she was grateful.

Syd shrieked in anger and yanked the knife from the vine, plunging it downwards again. Maria had her wind back, though, and moved without thought. She ducked under the branch and rammed her shoulders into Syd's midsection. The pink haired girl dropped her knife and fell to the ground, taking Maria with her. They wrestled for barely a few seconds before Syd broke free and rolled to a stand. Maria mirrored her on the other side, and both crouched, ready to claw at each other.

"I haven't failed my ruler just yet," Syd snarled, though she fell back as Jack, Tommy, Jason, Kat, Aisha, Rocky and Adam got close. A sick smile adapted her lips, though. "Regular humans – so much fun for my cute little Darklings, don't you agree? Nothing exactly like the smell of burning flesh and hair."

Maria's eyes widened and she turned and yelled, "Stay back!" just as a portal appeared. Fifteen or so Darklings passed through, and her yell gave no purpose but to distract herself. Syd slammed into her once again, and they both went rolling.

"Maria!" She heard Tommy call her name, but didn't have time to reply. Instead, she kicked her opponent off her, rolling and flipping into a stand. She felt her gem pulse, but she knew she couldn't' change, not in front of civilians.

"Don't touch their bodies!" She heard Jack shout a second later, but it was too late. A female voice cried out and the smell of sizzling flesh ran over the clearing. Several loud, yelled curses filled the clearing, but she kept focused on the battle as she and Syd circled each other.

"Bitch," Maria breathed out in anger. "You'll die for this." Her gem pulsed harder, responding to her anger. She couldn't morph, she had to remind herself as she heard another growled curse. Don't let anyone know who you are, that was rules number two, next to no personal gain and don't escalate fights.

"Oh, like you could." Syd taunted. "We both know you're only a bad replacement of me." Maria snarled and lunged, her kicked merely brushing pink hair as Syd dodged and grabbed her leg, flipping her.

She was lucky enough to land on her hands and sweep her legs out, forcing Syd to move. Not that it mattered much. Syd was endowed with powers beyond a human, and while Maria was a little above human, there was no way to defeat the other girl without going power ranger on her ass. There was just no way.

"You're going to die," Syd snarled at her, enraged at being beaten back by a mere human. It just wasn't fair! She was super powered, she was better! Why couldn't she kill these freaks?!

"Sooner or later, we all will," Maria retorted, edging back towards where her uncle and his friends fought. "And maybe, being who I am, I'll die before others," Keep her talking, something inside her said, "But it won't be by your hand. Never by you."

Syd howled in anger just as a Darkling general lunged at Maria. Maria ducked and swirled just as Syd's left foot hit the ground where she had been. Then she gave the Darkling a huge push, letting it tumble onto Syd, ignoring the burning ash that burning her hands. She shook it off on the grass, listening as Syd screamed in pain as she pushed the Darkling general off.

"You'll pay, whore." Syd hissed, tears streaming down her face as a portal opened behind her. Her entire front was burned, her shirt mostly gone, exposing horrid red skin. Maria smiled in spite of the pain, loving the sight of her enemy crying.

Then the portal closed and Jack called her name in urgency. She ducked, rolled and came to her feet, whimpering as her hands touched the ground. A small Darkling was moving towards her, side stepping and sweeping the ground, wings flapping. It looked oddly hypnotic, and she felt hate rise inside her. This thing had probably hurt on her new friends. It would die.

She hit it with a flying kick, causing it to stumbled back. Taking hold of its shoulders for only a brief amount of time, she pulled it down and kicked it on the back. A second later, vines ripped from the ground and tightened around the thing's neck, sizzling as they did so. Then the head came off and the vines withdrew, hurt and blackened.

Maria turned back to the fight and blinked, slightly amazing. Aisha and Kat were handling on on their own, Adam and Rocky on another, and Jason and Tommy were playing with a freakin' general. The fought like the knew how, like they had done this before, but Maria didn't think about it long. Jack was taking two, working with his plants as his partners, but he would do much better with a living, breathing person.

Usually, Jack and Ty backed each other up, with Dawn shooting arrows. Ryan was always near her, protecting her when she needed it and burning the lasting ones to a crisp. So far, Maria had protected Dawn as well, since she was the worst at hand to hand combat and the best at picking things off. Jack was good at brute force and power, while Ty preferred speed and agility. She was the same as Ty, doing well with speed, and Ryan, the best of them, was a mix of everything.

"Got your back!" She yelled to Jack as she kicked the second one away from him. His vines winded around the ankles of it, tripping it, but she knew how much power that took. He couldn't keep this up long.

"You're hurt!" He called back, ducking and cursing the fact he couldn't morph. He didn't like being this helpless.

"Not bad." She said as she ducked closer to him, so they could talk without being overheard. "It'll heal after an hour of powering up, I swear. It was barely more than a little touch anyway." When morphed, they had a stronger connection to the Morphing Grid, which was what gave them the Power and ability to heal fast.

"Fine, but don't get hurt worse for me, kay." He said, ducking as she flipped over and away from him. Her feet hit the chin of a stray Darkling that had been coming closer, but it didn't do much but knock it back. Damn, they needed to morph, he thought.

Then, as sudden as the thought, the Darklings stopped. The one behind him and the one he had been fighting, the one Maria had kicked in the chin, even the one Tommy and Jason had been toying with stopped. A flash came from each of the foot soldiers, then they were nothing but dust. Just like what had happened with the cat-thing-monster.

"It can't be that easy." Maria said in the sudden silence.

"Maria, are you alright?" Tommy demanded, trotting over to her. Jason, Adam, Rocky, Aisha and Kat were behind him, and they all looked rather concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just burned my hands on one of those things," She explained, holding out her hands, palm up. She didn't use their name, not wanting any more suspicion to fall on her.

Everyone sucked in a breath, even Jack. Her hands were bright red, the skin charred in some places and blistered in others. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't nice, but had helped save them all. If Syd had stayed...

"What the fuck were you thinking, staying!? You could have been killed!" Tommy yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. His own were only slightly burned, as was most of the skin that was visible.

Gee, not very grateful, are they, she thought. "I was thinking that I could help, and I did." She stated coldly. "In fact, without me getting rid of the wicked witch of the west, we'd all probably be dead!"

"Doesn't mean you should have taken the risks," A cold voice from the shadow said, and out stepped the Red Ranger. "You all should have run, whether you wanted to help or not."

"Where the hell were you?" Jason spoke now, harsh and angry. "You're supposed to fight the battles, not arrive after and lecture the people who fought and won in your place!"

Maria couldn't help the slight smile that tugged on her lips, though it was barely noticeable. She noticed that Jack turned his head around as well, hiding his own grin. "There are many things wrong with that statement, the first being that you didn't defeat them." He motioned to the piles of ash. "They were told to retreat, and this is how they do it. The second thing wrong with that is that I'm not lecturing you, I'm stating a fact. Third and most importantly? You aren't a Ranger, you have not idea how we work. So shut up and go home."

Maria suddenly envied Dawn and Ty, who she spotted in the shadows. She knew they were laughing, just as she wanted to. The scene really wasn't funny, but someone trying to tell off Ryan was. "I know enough to know that you just failed. You should have been here to protect them, and as you can see, you failed."

Actually, that was incorrect, but no one said it. In fact, no one responded to Jason's statement at all, except for Kat, Aisha, Rocky, Adam and Tommy, who fell around him in what looked like a defense formation. "They aren't hurt, at least not that I can see." Ryan snapped, glaring, Maria knew, from his helmet.

"Yeah? Then take a look at my niece's hands. They're burnt to a fucking crisp." Tommy growled, motioning towards her.

The Blue, White and Red Rangers froze, then all their helmets snapped in Jack and Maria's direction. Maria shrugged, "Jackson is hurt worse than me. Has a black eye and all."

Dawn stepped forward, and Jason and his group shifted. "Let me see," Her voice sounded off, but still soft.

Jack stepped forward, angling his head at her. "Nothing much" He muttered, though he did let her put her hands on his cheek. The white gloves glowed for a second, and slowly, the black eye melted away.

The white ranger turned to Maria then, holding out her gloved hands again. Maria shook her head and gave a crooked grin, "Sorry, but not until everyone else is taken care of."

Dawn and the other two male rangers nodded, understanding. She was a power ranger, and therefore her pain endurance was higher. Her uncle and his friends were human, and not nearly as able. The adults, however, seemed to object, though it was only Tommy who spoke. "Let them heal you first, Maria." He still sounded hard and had that stupid commanding tone in his voice.

"No. Way. In. Hell." She said through gritted teeth.

Kat took a turn next, "Come on, Maria. Let them help you first." She took that mothering tone, the one that social workers took. Maria hated that tone even more than she hated taking orders and being told what to do.

"Go to hell," She snarled, shocking everyone but Jack, Ryan, Ty and Dawn.

"Maria Mercenaries Amherst, you will not use that language!" Tommy snapped, and she could tell he was angry. Good. So was she.

"Well, well. Look at all the children!" A voice cut through the night, high pitched and almost painful to the ears. "Its like a daycare, with all the fighting and bickering!"

Then something stepped from the shadows, and Maria sucked in a breath. Everyone in the clearing tightened their muscles and tensed. The thing looked something like a woman, a red dress of mold type scales covering her front, which Maria thanked god for. The rest of her skin was green, forming small little pebble things that made her just sick to look at. Two eyes speared each side of the creature's head, glowing red, and yellow wings stretched behind her. A yellow and gold whip trailed by her bird-like hooked feet, and it took Maria a second to realize it was a long snake.

Her bones made a sickening noise as she walk, her ankles bending backwards like a bird's. "If you all just keep staring at me like that, it will make it a whole lot easier." Her voice was still harsh and high pitched, searing.

"What the fuck are you?" Maria finally breathed out, speaking for pretty much everyone in the clearing.

The thing puckered bright pink lips at her, "Now deary, that isn't a very nice thing to ask. Momma might have to spank you for that," Maria held back the urge to gag. "But I'll tell you anyway! I'm a Harpy, a warrior of hell and skies, to be feared!"

"Someone gag me. Please." Jack muttered to her left, then called out, "And how long did you practice that line, bird brain?"

"Bird brain?" Someone whispered, probably Ryan. The Harpy took up her attention, though. "Maybe I'll just eat you instead, little boy." The thing crackled, and Maria felt her stone pulse even more than before.

"We need to get them out of here," Ty whispered to Ryan. He knew that the thing was likely to attack, and it would kill anything in its way. He felt it in his bones, just as Dawn had seen it in her dreams.

"Heal my hands. Now." Maria demanded, sticking her hands out as she watched the Harpy, who flapped her wings and moved closer. She felt the healing wave enter her, but didn't look to see.

"Get them out of here, angel," Ryan said, speaking low. They knew who he was talking to, though. Dawn was called angel by everyone, including Maria. "You two, stay here." He whispered to them, so the others wouldn't hear it.

"Oh no no no! You can't leave my tea party yet!" The Harpy sang, hopping closer now, wings flapping. "You must stay and eat with me! Or rather, be eaten, but it matters little!"

"Tommy, Jason, the rest of you, I need you to fall back and run when the Red Ranger gives the signal, okay?" Dawn asked softly, though her eyes, like the rest of their's, were trained on the hideous bird woman.

Tommy grunted, and Aisha spoke this time. "No way. We'll stay and watch your back, make sure nothing happens."

"No!" Maria spoke this time, then she changed what she was going to say. "We'll only get in the way! We'll get killed!"

Adam smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, intending to be a comfort. "It'll be okay. We used to live through worse on a daily basis, back home, remember?"

"But I haven't, and I don't want to die!" She poured on the fake tears. "Please let them handle it! Please!"

"She's right." Ty spoke from behind her, though it was the voice of the blue ranger. "You'll get in the way, get killed, maybe get her killed. Even if she went back...You end up dead, and she ends up alone."

Tommy looked caught. "Look, we can look after ourselves. We've been doing it a long time. Plus, we have reinforcements waiting, in case we get in trouble. We'll be fine." Ryan said, then yelled out, "GO!"

This time, it was Kat who took the lead. She grabbed Maria's hand and pulled, and Maria followed, hoping everyone else would. Sure enough, she heard footsteps behind her. She glanced back and saw that only Jack was missing, though someone would notice soon. "We're going back home?" Maria asked, still keeping the fearful tone in her voice.

It wasn't entirely fake. Her team had never faced anything like that Harpy before, and she wasn't sure if they could handle it. "Yes, we are." Kat said softly, slowing to a jog. They were in seeing distance of the house, and it would take only a few yards to get into the house.

"Where's Jack?" Rocky asked as Aisha and the men caught up. Someone finally seemed to notice that the green soul ranger wasn't among the group that had run. He had started with them, sure, but ducked into the woods, morphed and gone back to fight.

Everyone was silent for a second. "Jason and I will go back. Aisha, Rocky, go inside. Kat, take Maria back to the house." Tommy finally stated, eyes darkening.

"NO!" Maria shouted, and couldn't help but feel weird. They probably thought she was having hysteria, went in fact it was just regular panic. She couldn't risk them going back and finding out the truth.

"Look, Maria, I know this is hard for you, being the first time you've seen a monster, but you'll just have to trust we know what to do." Tommy said gently. How wrong he was, she thought bitterly. She'd seen plenty of monsters, even before she'd become a ranger.

She didn't say a thing though, because there was nothing to say. She couldn't argue without blowing her cover, she couldn't fight him to stay. All she could do was follow, pray and hope that her team had defeated the thing in time. "If you go, I want to as well. He's my friend anyway." She said softly.

"No, Maria." Jason spoke this time. It sounded like they were taking turns helping her 'cope'. "You need to be safe."

"And the house is safe?" She said dryly, giving up the hysteria act. "Look, Jason, no offense, but that was idiotic." She motioned to the house where Rocky, Adam and Aisha were waiting on the porch. Kat, who was behind her, ducked the hand and bit her lip to keep from saying anything. "Think for a second. That monster is going to get its ass kick, and then grow fifty feet tall. You really want me to be in a house during that?"

There was silence, then Tommy sighed. "She's right, Jas. Kat, there are keys on the counter. Get into the city if you can, or further away."

Maria resisted the urge to beat her head on the ground. She was just about to give up and yell out that Jack was the green ranger, he'd be fine, when a spiting scream filled the air. She blinked, then smiled. "Look like they didn't need help." She said smugly.

"Yeah, but Jack is still out there, and probably scared stiff." Kat said gently, and Maria felt the urge to turn and hit her. "Tommy and Jason can take care of themselves. Jack can't."

"Like hell he can't!" She snarled, "Did you see him fight?"

Before anyone could reply, though, the ground began to snarl and rumble. Maria felt the evil before she saw it, but saw it she did. The black smoke curled about seventy feet into the air, from the point where the Rangers had probably killed the Harpy. Then the smoke expanded, and finally dissipated. Left standing was a huge bird, different from the monster yet the same. It had breasts and a female head, but a beak and a more bird like body. "TIME TO DIE!"

The scream lit the air, and Maria loose a few curses. This could be very, very bad.


	9. Bonding Time

A.N : Yes, I am totally drawing this out. And yes, Kim will appear soon. You know, Kim as in Kim and Tommy, because they totally work together?

Also, on a note : This is an Alternate Universe is some ways. Aisha never left and Tanya never took her spot. She was the Yellow Zeo Ranger the entire time. The way Kat became the Pink Ranger was the same, and Kim did leave for the Pan Globals. Only difference? Kim vanished off the face of the earth; the older rangers haven't heard from her in a long, long time and she never competed. She did send the letter, though.

Billy left for Aquitar. Trini, Jason and Zack left for the Peace Conference, though Jason came back and became the Gold Ranger. He stopped being the Gold Ranger, but he stayed in Angel Grove. Kat and he started dating, and Tommy never dated Kat, though they got close to it before Jason showed up. Ninjor didn't ever show up. Drucela (from the movie) gave the rangers their Ninja Powers and Zords and the Rangers kept them.

Justin took over for Rocky for a while, before Rocky's injuries healed. The Space Rangers stayed in Space and Kerone became the Purple space ranger. Zordon was killed, saving the world and the universe from darkness. The Dino Rangers were the next team, and everything is pretty much the same.

The power coins were destroyed, the Ninja Powers are all doormat but still there (except Kat because she merely borrowed Kim's; she didn't revive her own). The Zeo Crystals are all in Tommy's possession, but totally drained of power. The Turbo Keys are with the former Turbo Rangers (now Space Rangers) and mostly drained of power. The Space Rangers are still active, but usually far from earth. The Dino Gems were all drained.

And that should answer most of the questions. If you have any more that I didn't think about, please ask!

* * *

Chapter Nine

* * *

They all watched in horror as the thing tilted its head upward and let loose a war scream, then lowered her beak. Her huge red eyes focused on the house and the city past it, and her wings flapped, creating a huge breeze. Maria had never seen a full grown vamped out monster, before, and she didn't think her team had either. The fact that they had to watch out for humans who wanted to be heroes? Even worse.

"We need to go," Kat said, and her commanding tone was almost as bad as her 'I understand you' tone. Maria payed no attention to her, at least until the woman's hand clamped over her shoulder.

Maria's hand gripped the blonde woman's wrist and moved it from her shoulder, letting it drop. "I need to go." She said after a second. "They need me." Tommy's eyes narrowed on her, and she knew he was connecting the dots. The fact she and her group numbered five, the same as the rangers, that she wore black a lot, that she had argued with Jack over the color. The fact that Jack had been wearing a green t-shirt and had fought well before vanishing. She could see the pieces coming together in her uncle's mind.

"Look, we don't want you hurt. You need to go." Jason said, suggesting this time. He seemed to be the only one to realize she didn't respond to gentle tones or commands. She was starting to like him more for that fact alone.

Tommy shook his head, "Runs in the family." He muttered to himself, then blinked down at her. "Go ahead, but you're going to have to explain yourself after."

"As long as you explain what you mean by 'runs in the family'," She countered, though she was starting to put it together herself. Did she really insult the green ranger when he was sitting in front of her, or was that just her imagination overacting? Then she shook her head and said, "I gotta go."

Jason and Kat were looking at Tommy like he'd done something horrible, but he merely smiled as she pushed past him and sprinted into the trees.

* * *

The sight that greeted the now-morphed black ranger was horrific, at least in her mind. It probably could have been worse, but seeing her leader unmorphed and laying crumpled in the clearing was pretty damn bad. Ty and Jack were dodging and gaining the attention of the huge monster while Dawn crouched next to Ryan. Maria dodged through the trees until she came upon her leader's body. "What happened?" She demanded, knowing it had to be bad.

"I was still weak from the dreams, since they drain me sometimes, and when I healed you and Jack..." Dawn shook her head, blonde hair falling around her. "I was too weak to fight and collapsed after the first wave. The Harpy tried to attack me, but Ryan got in the way. He wasn't ready and got hit. Just passed out, though." The last was mostly hopeful.

"Passed out the moment we needed the Zords." Maria groused, then touched her gem, the now large shimmering black belt buckle. _Cae, can you hear me?_

_ 'Of course I can, Maria. I can also see you.' _Cae responded, her voice smooth and soft_. 'I shall send the 'zords right away. You will instinctively know which is yours.'  
_

_ 'Thanks,' _Maria told the immortal warrior woman back, then cut the connection. Second later, a cry ripped over the night sky, and black wings took shape in the night. Maria felt the magic, as did everyone else in the vicinity. Even the Harpy stopped and watched.

At first, the night air around the raven shimmered, and it looked like a normal, albeit overgrown, bird. Then the magic hardened and it looked more like a machine, though still more fluid than the zords that Maria had seen on T.V when she had first seen the Dino Rangers fight. Then came the next waves of magic, and a startlingly blueish white bear appeared from the sky, jumping down and rearing back on two legs, crushing a few trees but keeping most of the area intact. The howl came next, and a dark green wolf seemed to shimmer next to the bear. It was all unreal, but Maria knew it was happening, just as she knew what she had to do.

"Dawn, put your helmet back on and get Ryan to the house. I think Tommy and his friends will surprise you by knowing what to do." She said, determined now. Then she raised her voice, "TY! JACK! Merge!"

Ty and Jack shimmered out of sight just as a hooked foot tore at the ground where they had been. Maria felt herself explode after a second, only to feel a plush seat under her. The world around her was black and silver, and she couldn't help but smile. Despite the fact that the control and buttons looked confusing and hard to understand, she understood them. The soul inside her knew what to do, and he or she was loaning her that info.

She twirled the Raven up and in a circle, coming down with her talons extended. The Harpy screamed at the first strike, stumbling backwards, tearing the forest more. Orange blood fell to the ground and covered the silver talons, but no one cared. Soon enough, the bear was stained orange, or at least the metal was, and the wolf was covered from muzzle to ankle in it.

It hadn't taken long to push the Harpy away from Ryan and Dawn, or put her on the defensive. Something told Maria, though, that she had better enjoy the easy win. It wouldn't be so easy next time.

Dawn thanked the Power that she had stayed morphed, otherwise she would never have been able to handle Ryan's weight alone. Not that she had to much longer. She was on the porch itself, and she carefully lifted a foot and nudged the door open. A young black woman stood on the other side, looking at the white ranger, then Ryan, who she had both arms wrapped around, carrying the weight of him. "Help?" Dawn's voice was feeble, almost inaudible, but the woman caught the words and smiled gently.

Reaching out, Aisha took hold of on of Ryan's arms and stepped out, pulling it over her shoulders. "Come on, we can lay him on the couch."

They made their way to what looked a green living room, laying him on the couch. Dawn ignored the other people in the room, barely stopping to count them at four guys. Her main job was looking after Ryan, and Maria would kill her if she didn't. The girl was extremely protective of all of them. "What'd he get hit by?" One of the guys asked, this one in green with black jeans.

"No idea. I was kinda busy trying to keep my team from getting killed," She snapped, glaring at them all through her visor as she smoothed back Ryan's hair.

She recognized the next speaker. He was Maria's uncle. He'd tossed them out just a few hours ago when he'd found them doing drills in his gym. He'd been pissed, and she understood it. If she couldn't heal with a touch, then the fact they were doing things like that without supervision...well, she'd have been pissed too. "We can help you, I swear." His voice was gentle as he motioned towards Ryan. "We know how to treat these types of things."

"And which of you is the doctor?" She asked rhetorically, guessing none of these guys were.

Then someone cleared their throat from the doorway, "Actually, I'm a nurse, but I'm guessing that's good enough." The blonde woman handed the tray to the guy in the red t-shirt, or one of the two, that was. Then she made her way over to kneel beside Dawn.

"He has at least a concussion," Dawn said after a second, giving in. Maria trusted these people, otherwise she wouldn't have directed the white ranger and their wounded leader to this place. "I think the suit protected him from any internal injuries, but I can't be sure." Well, she could be, but she'd have to get her power recharged first.

"Most likely its only a head injury," Kat said after peeling his eye lids back. His pupils were dilated, though they did shrink a bit, much to everyone's relief. "I'd have to do a x-ray to be sure, but something tells me he'll be healed, or at least mostly healed, by the time we get to the hospital."

"Most likely," Dawn agreed, relaxing as she fell back into her element. "We heal fast right after and during a morph, and since he just fell from it, I'd say he's healing faster than anything you've seen."

"We've seen more than you know," Kat said, turning her attention back to Ryan. "He looks like he's gonna be fine." She stood up then, retreating to Jason's arms once more to ponder these new rangers.

Dawn nodded, sitting on the edge of the couch. It wasn't very comfortable to be sitting in armor, but it felt even worse to be on her feet. They all sat, or in a few cases, stood, in silence for a few minutes. Then Rocky, as usual, took the plunge and broke the quite. He had always been outgoing. "Want a cookie?" He pointed at the plate on the table that Kat had brought in.

"And how would I eat a cookie with a helmet on?" Dawn's dry voice filled the room as Aisha giggled. Adam merely shook his head. Kat and Jason were busy whispering to each other, but stopped to give Rocky an identical look. Tommy wasn't in the room, having left to put up the first aid kit.

"Well, you could always take it off." Rocky suggested, grinning as he bit into one of said cookies.

Adam gave him a look then. "Rocky, you're an idiot." His voice was flat, but he was obviously fighting a smile as he turned to Dawn. "Look, we know that Jackson and Maria are rangers, most likely green and black, from the argument earlier." He let his grin spread, then. "Still wondering if I should be insulted or flattered, having been both."

"And you call me an idiot?" Rocky muttered as Adam spilled the secret. Aisha shot him a look, and he held up his hands. Maybe Adam was right, and this could be a way to get the White Ranger to trust them. Or he could be wrong and these new Rangers didn't give a shit, which, from Maria's earlier attitude, was more likely.

Dawn was silent for a second. She wished she had Ty's power, yet again. Being able to tell if this guy was lying would be a god send. "You were a ranger?" Was it even possible to be both a green and black ranger?

"We all were," Tommy said from the doorway, coming to take a seat in a huge armchair. "How about this – we'll spill about who we were, if you spill about who you are?" Not that he didn't know. He was guessing the lovely Dawn and the wary white ranger were one in the same.

Dawn gave it another minute of thought, then reached up and unlatched her helmet. Blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she blinked wide blue eyes at the former rangers. "Dawn." She didn't bother giving a last name, "I believe two of you are familiar with me?" She questioned, shifting on the edge of the couch, brushing her hair away from her eyes.

"She's Maria's friend, from when I caught them in the basement." Tommy explained, eying the two on the couch. "Which must make the young man behind you the red ranger?"

"Good guess," Dawn spoke lightly, rotating her neck in agitation. She didn't like attention, she didn't like spilling secrets, and she didn't like her leader laying behind her without moving.

"Not a guess," It was the other man in red that spoke, "He's wearing red, and really, when you know what to look for, its pretty easy to figure out."

Dawn paused, cocking her head to the side. Something in the room changed, she could feel it. Narrowing her eyes, she traced the disturbance, then let her insides relax. Ryan was awake, even if he hadn't moved visibly. "And which color were you, when you were a ranger?"

"Red. The first red ranger, in fact," He smiled and tacked on, "And you can call me Jason. No formalities between fellow rangers."

Dawn gave him a long, slow blink, shifting her weight again. "So you're the first red ranger," Dawn pointed at Adam, "And he was a green and black. How about the rest of you?"

Tommy smiled, "I was the first green and first white, then later a red – twice, and finally black. Jason was the first red, and the second gold. Adam was the second black and second green, Kat was the second pink, Aisha was the second yellow, Rocky was the second red and the second blue. There are more, but that's all that's present." He motioned to each one of the former rangers as he said their names, and everyone grinned as their leader took control.

Ryan, apparently, was through playing dead and rolled so that his back was against the back of the couch. "I suppose this is where I start introducing members of the Soul Gem Power Rangers, right?"

Rocky snickered and whispered to Adam, "Soul gems?" Adam merely slapped his teammate upside the head, and both Ryan and Dawn shot them a look.

"Usually, yes, but I know the majority of your team already – unless, of course, you're hiding a few rangers?" Tommy asked, rather rhetorically.

"Sorry, Uncle Tommy," Maria said from the doorway as she stepped inside, still morphed. The green and blue rangers tumbled in after her, and not in a dignified manner. "Just the five of us and that creepy-ass mentor we got stuck with."

Tommy frowned, but Ryan beat him to the punch. "Don't curse, Maria. The angel hates it." He punctuated his statement by throwing a pillow.

Maria snickered and ducked, unmorphing at the same time. The pillow hit the green ranger right in the helmet as Maria swung back up to a standing position. "And if the angel doesn't like it, she can tell me so herself."

This time, it was Dawn who threw the pillow, and Maria didn't duck. It hit the girl straight in the fact, and Dawn giggled. "I don't like people swearing, especially not someone who has such an extensive language."

"If by 'extensive', you mean, 'dirtier than a sailor's toenails', then yeah, that's Maria." The green ranger drawled in a thick western accent, unmorphing as he made his way over to the couch. He gave Tommy a wink. "You're young charge sure has a dirty mouth, partner."

Jason burst out laughing, followed by the other former rangers. "You're all a very colorful group of rangers, that's for sure."

"And now they're going to want to crown you the king of understatement." The blue ranger remarked, his suit melting away to reveal Ty, the eldest of the group.

Adam snorted, "That title goes to Tommy, the 'only late by a few minutes' and 'its only a scratch' king." Kat and Aisha were cracking in the background, and Rocky was having a hard time holding his laughter. "I remember once, a few months after we started the ranger thing...Tommy had this huge gash in his side, bleeding all over the place, right? And when Kat noticed, she's asked why he hadn't asked for help."

Rocky smirked, taking over the story, "And he had the guts to look and say, 'It's only a flesh wound, I swear!' Kat looked about ready to finish the monster's job, and in a lot more painful manner!"

Kat snorted and rolled her eyes, "He was quoting King Arthur and the Holy Grail while _he was bleeding out! _Of _course _I was angry!"

Tommy scowled playfully, then glanced at the new rangers, who were staring at them in fascination. "Uh..."

"Why don't we just go ahead and leave you guys to your conversion?" Ryan suggested. "Let y'all catch up on the good stuff while the rest of us sleep."

Jason nodded, standing. "That's a good idea. Anyone need a ride home?"

There was an awkward pause, then Maria spoke up, "I was kinda hoping that they could crash here? Except, ya know, Dawn. She's gotta do stuff tomorrow."

Tommy frowned, "I can't just let them sleep here, Maria, not without making sure everything is okay with their parents."

Ty sighed, Jack snorted and Ryan smiled. "Not to worry, Dr. Oliver. My mother is out of town for a while, and my aunt doesn't care where I am, as long as I show up at school sober at least three times a week."

"I'm kinda sleeping in the car, since my parents lock the doors after ten o'clock." Ty shrugged, then frowned. "Strict, not abusive, before your mind even starts on that path."

Tommy and Jason exchanged looks, then leveled their eyes at Jack. The green ranger gave a bitter smile, "My parents are so fucking drunk, I could be gone for a week and they wouldn't notice." Dawn winced, resisting the urge to call him out on the language.

Tommy, apparently, didn't feel the same way. He pointed a finger at Jack and growled, "Use that word in the presence of the ladies or anyone here, and you're out." Then he sighed and glanced at the rest of the ragtag group, "But yeah, you can use the rec room. I have a few sleeping bags somewhere around here."

Kat cleared her throat, "Uh, Dawn, was it? You aren't staying here, so I assume you need a ride?"

Dawn nodded, "Yeah. I can call a cab or something, though. My house is about an hour away. A long drive, this late at night."

Aisha chuckled, "Well, it can be bonding time for us girls. You, me, Kat and Maria." The former yellow ranger gave a wide grin.

"Uh, count me out." Maria's eyes were wide at the horror of being in a car for an hour with Kat and Aisha, and Dawn held back a giggle. "I've gotta get the boys settled and patch up some of their wounds, ya know?"

Dawn faked a frown, knowing the black ranger well enough to know that she was making excuses. "Do you need Kat and me to stay? We have the medical training."

Maria shook her head, elbowing Jack without looking. He 'oomphed', but stopped snickering. "Naw, we're good. Just minor injuries."

Dawn shrugged, "If you're sure..."

"YES!" Maria yelped, moving to sit on the couch. She picked up Ryan's feet and draped them over her lap, holding on to his ankles, as if a shield. "Now go! Aren't you busy tomorrow?"

Dawn barely got to nod before Kat and Aisha were dragging her from the room. Everyone was silent for a second, then all the rangers – except Maria – burst out laughing. "God, Maria, you are such a wimp!" Ryan threw out, then whimpered as she slammed a fist into his ribs.

"Shut it, flame boy." Maria growled playfully, "Besides, last time I checked, you were the one that passed out during the fight. _Not_ me."

"Dirty pool, man." Ryan accused, but the mood still remained light.

Rocky stood up with a yawn. "Since this conversation doesn't seem to need me, I think I'm going to go ahead and pass out."

Adam nodded, "Yeah. We've both been up since, what, five?" Rocky nodded, and without further ado, they vanished into the guest bedrooms (leaving the author with less characters to worry about).

Tommy sighed, "Guess that means Jason and I are stuck hunting down the sleeping bags."

Ryan shook his head, "We're good. We'll just crash in Maria's room."

There was silence, then Tommy narrowed his eyes, "I don't think so."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Relax, Uncle Tommy. I'll give them the pull out bed to sleep on." Then she shrugged, "Besides, if I wanted to bang one of 'em, I sure as hell would choose a more creative place than a bed. Maybe a shower..." She pretended to think.

Ty chocked and slapped the back of her head, causing her to twist around and smirk up at him. "Don't worry, Doctor Oliver. She's joke. Plus, Ryan's too much of a gentleman, Jack is pinning over someone else, and I'm gay. No one is going to touch her."

Tommy's lips were still thin. "I still don't think its a good idea."

Jack groaned, and in his usual blunt manner, poured it all out. "Look, man, the gems had a bond between them. The same goes for the hosts. It's like a physically painful feeling, being away from each other."

He was slightly exaggerating. The sensation wasn't painful, but they all felt a little empty, a little hollow on the inside, whenever they weren't around each other. It didn't stop them from functioning alone, but it sure made it a lot easier to function as a unit.

Jason butted in, "Just let them go, Tommy. We'll keep an eye on them. Plus, the door will be open, right." It wasn't a question.

Maria gave a bright smile. "Yep."


End file.
